6/11/24, 1:35 PM Gazan civilians have adequate nutrition, aid distribution is the issue - The Jerusalem Post

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Jerusalem Post Israel-Hamas War

Gazans facing nutrition insecurity despite

Israel allowing adequate food aid - report
Predicted famine in Gaza would likely be caused by hijacking of aid inside Gaza, and
not lack of nutrition in Israeli aid, finds research.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF

JUNE 4, 2024 08:14 Updated: JUNE 4, 2024 11:51

Humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip is seen at the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Israel, May 30, 2024
(photo credit: REUTERS/AMIR COHEN)

Civilians in Gaza are at risk of food insecurity due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas
War, even though Israel has been allowing adequate amounts of food to enter

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Gaza as humanitarian aid, according to a recent academic working paper.

This was the conclusion reached by a group of researchers from institutions

across Israel, including Tel Aviv University, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem,
University of Haifa, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Sheba Medical Center,
Shaare Zedek Medical Center, and the Health Ministry.

The non-peer-reviewed working paper, titled "Nutritional Assessment of Food

Aid Delivered to Gaza by land and air drops, during the 2024 War," was a
nutritional assessment of food aid in Gaza, analyzing the quantity of aid and its
“compliance with population needs.”

Food insecurity in Gaza during the Israel-Hamas War

Israel has exercised considerable control over what humanitarian aid is allowed
to enter the Gaza Strip. However, many experts and policymakers have voiced
concern over a humanitarian crisis among Gazan civilians due to Israel's war
against Hamas.

To find out the extent of any food insecurity in Gaza and whether Israel is
allowing in enough food aid, the authors carried out their research according to
the standards of the Sphere humanitarian guidelines for food security, nutrition,
and food aid. This states that everyone has the right to adequate food, which
involves “availability of food in a quantity and of a quality sufficient to satisfy the
dietary needs of individuals” and “accessibility of such food in ways that are
sustainable.”

The Sphere guidelines rule that both states and non-state actors are responsible
for fulfilling this obligation (the right to food) and that lack of fulfillment of these
obligations is considered a violation of international law.

How much food was allowed into Gaza?

To carry out the assessment, the researchers acquired the registry of all food aid
delivered to Gaza via air and land delivery between January-April 2024 from
Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT).

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Unlike the data posted by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for
Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the COGAT data lists the total
weight of each aid delivery and its content. COGAT also uses data from multiple
sources, both national and private.

Trucks are seen carrying aid and fuel into the Gaza Strip via COGAT and the Israeli Navy, May 26, 2024 (credit: IDF
SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

For the report, every truck or airdrop of food was categorized, quantified, and
assessed in terms of its nutrient composition, according to the reported method.
The researchers then determined the energy, protein, fat, and iron content of all
shipments, and calculated supply per capita per day, according to the size of
Gaza’s population.

These findings were then cross-compared with the Sphere standards for conflict
populations.

The assessment found that, in the first quarter of 2024, 14,916 trucks conveying
227,854 tons, and 95 airdrops weighing 3,694 tons of food entered Gaza: an

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average of 3,729 food trucks per month.

In the same quarter, the weight of food shipments increased by 57%, as did the
diversity of food items.

The following food groups were increased: fruit (2,851%), vegetables (2,657%),
nuts and seeds (1435%), Dairy and eggs (934%), Potatoes (662%), and chicken,
fish, and meat (97%).

The average nutritional energy supplied per say was 3,374 kcal per person,
protein was 101 gr (12.1% of energy), fat was 80.6 gr (21.5% of energy), and iron
was 25.2 mg. Energy, protein, and fat amounts exceed Sphere
recommendations. Iron was lower than the Sphere standard.

Comparing the recommendations of the Sphere Guidelines versus the reported

findings, Sphere recommend 2,100 Kcal a day, whereas the average food aid per
person in Gaza was reported as 3,374 Kcal. Sphere recommend that 10% of the
overall intake should be from protein; the Gaza aid was found to be 12.1% on
average.

Members of ''World Central Kitchen'' prepare food for Palestinians, in the location given as Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict
between Israel and Hamas, in this picture released on March 21, 2024 and obtained from social media. (credit: @chefjoseandres
via X/via REUTERS )

The iron content in Gazan aid was found to be 25.2 mg a day, lower than the
recommended iron of 32 mg a day.

According to the research, even when considering 30% food loss (stolen aid, aid
not delivered, or aid left too long to be usable) the theoretical nutrient supply
required by a healthy population with the Gazan age distribution would be 2711
kcal, which would still exceed the threshold.

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Regarding the low iron, the report acknowledges that this could cause anemia,
which is already common in Gaza. The World Bank says “anemia is when the
body lacks enough healthy red blood cells to carry oxygen to tissues. It can be
caused by a lack of iron and other micronutrients.”

According to sources such as the World Health Organization and the World Bank,
anemia is a severe public health problem in Gaza. The World Bank in 2020
reported “over half of pregnant women and over half of children aged 6–23
months were anemic”. The reports came before the war.

The report therefore asks that the “Nutrition and Food Security Clusters
encourage humanitarian aid organizations to increase donations of iron-rich
food.”

Despite these, the report concluded that: “The quantity and quality of food aid
delivered to Gaza have steadily improved since January 2024 and supply
sufficient energy, protein, and fat for the population’s needs.”

Challenges to distribution of aid

According to the IDF aid timeline for the final week of May, the aid from Israel
was delivered through the Kerem Shalom crossing of the Defense Ministry’s
Land Crossing Authority and the Erez crossing. The report also took into account
the aid travelling through the Nitzana crossing from Israel to Egypt, where it
would head to the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza.

Israel’s governmental guidelines state “there are no restrictions on the

admission of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, provided it is coordinated in
advance with the Israeli authorities and passes security screening.”

In March 2024, the IPC (Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC)
Famine Review Committee (FRC)) predicted that famine would manifest in Gaza
between March 2024 and May 2024.

Addressing this prediction, Israel’s report suggests that a famine in Gaza, should
it occur, would likely be caused by issues in internal aid distribution in Gaza as
Israel’s aid itself.

Once it reaches Gaza, the report says that the aid is at the mercy of various
factors, including “theft, looting, and hoarding of food and other supplies,
abetted by Hamas or others” which can limit the capacity of Israel to ensure the
Gazan population has access to food.

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Security personnel guard trucks carrying aid as they arrive in Rafah, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the
Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in the southern Gaza Strip January 17, 2024. (credit: REUTERS/MOHAMMED SALEM/FILE
PHOTO)

Additionally, Hamas’s attacks on aid crossings, humanitarian zones, or at IDF

forces protecting humanitarian corridors can reduce the quantity of aid reaching
civilians. The report stated that, the Kerem Shalom crossing was hit by three
mortar barrages on May 8, and 16 rocket attacks on the May 5 and 7. The
northern pier and humanitarian corridor endured fire throughout May. The
study did not account for the aid entering through the US-built sea pier, which
sunk last week.

“Delivery alone is not sufficient,” the report concluded, and “ensuring the
population's equitable distribution and access to humanitarian aid requires a
sustained cooperative effort.”

Gazan aid, it recommends, must be monitored “from border to consumption.”

“Such a crucial project will require cooperation between Israeli, Palestinian, and
international agencies, health practitioners, and researchers, united to ensure
the nutritional security of the citizens of Gaza.”

Related Tags

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