{"id":10125,"date":"2024-10-08T07:29:03","date_gmt":"2024-10-08T07:29:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/egyptssp.ifpri.info\/?p=10125"},"modified":"2024-10-08T07:44:44","modified_gmt":"2024-10-08T07:44:44","slug":"one-year-of-war-in-gaza-food-emergency-continues-with-no-end-in-sight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/egyptssp.ifpri.info\/2024\/10\/08\/one-year-of-war-in-gaza-food-emergency-continues-with-no-end-in-sight\/","title":{"rendered":"One year of war in Gaza: Food emergency continues with no end in sight"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Rob Vos<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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A charity organization distributes food to displaced Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Photo Credit: Anas Mohammed\/Shutterstock.com<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n

With conflict in the Middle East now escalating into Lebanon and beyond, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip continue to face dire food security conditions. One year has passed since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israeli civilians, triggering the Israeli military retaliation and war that have killed more than 41,000 Palestinians and devastated the livelihoods of Gaza\u2019s population of over 2 million.<\/p>\n

Food insecurity in Gaza has slightly attenuated since our\u00a0previous assessment<\/a>\u00a0of last June, when the\u00a0Integrated Phase Classification (IPC) early warning mechanism<\/a>\u00a0estimated that nearly all of Gaza\u2019s population faced emergency levels of acute food insecurity. IPC\u2019s\u00a0Famine Review Committee<\/a>\u00a0did not declare famine in June, as food assistance flows into Gaza had then increased from previous low, irregular levels. Humanitarian food assistance has declined since, but an increased flow of commercial food supplies appears to have helped in reducing inflationary pressures and, for now, preventing the occurrence of widespread famine in Gaza.<\/p>\n

Humanitarian food assistance under continued stress<\/strong><\/h3>\n

While no new IPC assessment has been released since June, some new evidence points towards a renewed, further deterioration of living conditions and dangerously low food supplies.<\/p>\n

The lion\u2019s share of Gaza\u2019s population\u20141.8 million people\u2014resides in the territory\u2019s south, and over the past year most of them having been forced to relocate multiple times. They are heavily reliant on food assistance, which has been erratic. A\u00a0recent assessment of food supplies<\/a>\u00a0by FEWS NET estimates that, in August, 2,750-3,050 metric tons (MT) of humanitarian food assistance entered via truck through the only remaining southern border crossing, Kerem Abu Salem\/Kerem Shalom\u2014representing a decline of more than 40% from July and of more than 90% since April, the peak of post-October 7 food assistance delivery by truck in southern Gaza. Humanitarian food supplies to the north also declined in July and August.<\/p>\n

Following these sharp declines,\u00a0FEWS NET estimates<\/a>\u00a0caloric availability of humanitarian food assistance for the entire Gazan population of 2.2 million people dropped to approximately 15%-20% of the minimum daily requirement in August, down from approximately 30%-35% in July and well below the levels observed prior to the closure of the Rafah border crossing in April (Figure 1). In contrast, food assistance deliveries to the population remaining in the north (about 350,000 people) improved between April and August, rising to cover 70%-75% of minimum caloric needs\u2014up from the well below 50% figure for the first months of the year, though down from peak levels in May, when aid supplies peaked temporarily above minimum food needs.<\/p>\n

Figure 1
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\n<\/strong>Source: FEWS NET, Gaza Strip Targeted Analysis, August 2024. FEWS NET analysis of caloric content of food supplies contained in humanitarian trucks
\nbased on UNRWA manifest data, as of August 31. The percentages on the right-hand scale represent the share of kcal contained in food supplies in
\nminimum kcal needs (2,100 kcal\/per person\/day).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Increased commercial imports of food<\/strong><\/h3>\n

While inflows of food assistance have dropped dramatically, commercial supplies crossing borders have increased. According to FEWS NET\u2019s\u00a0food supply analysis<\/a>, an estimated 50,000 MT of food was reportedly inspected and approved for entry in August at the Kerem Abu Salem\/Kerem Shalom border crossing by Israel\u2019s\u00a0Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT)<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

While FEWS NET was not able to assess this food\u2019s caloric value, people in Gaza do report they now increasingly rely on these supplies. Indeed, respondents to a FEWS NET market survey reported they purchased an increasing share of their food in markets, rather than through food assistance. In southern Gaza, nearly 67% of respondents to a non-representative survey indicated they purchased at least half of the food consumed in their household, a slight increase from July. In northern Gaza, nearly half of responding households said they had bought most of the food they consumed in the market, up from 39% in July.<\/p>\n

WFP\u2019s September Market Monitor<\/a>\u00a0also indicates increased food purchases in markets, but contrastingly reports that the majority of households throughout Gaza continue to rely on humanitarian food aid as their primary food source. WFP\u2019s survey data indicate that, in August, 63% of households in the southern governorates of Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis reported food aid as their primary source of supply, while 22% obtained most food through market purchases. WFP data further indicate that, in the north, 84% reported food aid and only 7% reported purchased food as their primary food sources.<\/p>\n

These apparent contradictions in the data may be the result of a lack of representativity of the samples of both these surveys. Given the fact that food inflation moderated significantly in recent months (see below), it is likely though that larger amounts of commercial flows of food are reaching consumers in Gaza.<\/p>\n

The improvements are slight at best, however, and conditions for accessing food are as precarious and volatile, meaning the risk of further and rapidly worsening hunger and malnutrition remains very high, as explained below.<\/p>\n

Unstable supplies<\/strong><\/h3>\n

First, truck convoys with both humanitarian and commercial food supplies tend to suffer from substantial delays<\/strong>\u00a0and congestion at border crossings, leading to high rates of spoilage, especially of fresh foods.<\/p>\n

Second, transportation to markets and distribution centers is severely limited<\/strong>\u00a0due to heavily damaged or otherwise impassable roads, ongoing military operations, and inconsistent fuel supplies. In the case of humanitarian convoys passing the Kerem Shalom crossing, for instance, COGAT inspected and approved food trucks for entry each day from August 7-28, but the UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA only recorded receiving humanitarian trucks carrying food on three separate days during that period. In late August, a World Food Programme (WFP) convoy returning from the Kerem Shalom border crossing came under fire at an Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) checkpoint, resulting in a temporary suspension of all WFP operations and movement in Gaza.<\/p>\n

Third, convoys have been subject to\u00a0looting by organized groups<\/a><\/strong>, targeting trucks carrying food with smuggled cigarettes. This has also impacted humanitarian food assistance, although its full extent is not known.<\/p>\n

Fourth, food market operations are highly dysfunctional and volatile<\/strong>\u00a0because of the destruction of physical infrastructure, massive displacement of people, and disrupted payment systems. Limited internet availability in Rafah, Deir Al-Balah, North Gaza, and Gaza City due to fuel shortages is impeding traders from conducting their business and preventing consumers making digital payments or accessing cash.<\/p>\n

Fifth, and most importantly, the destruction of the livelihoods of most people in Gaza<\/strong>\u00a0has severely constrained access to food. A June assessment by the\u00a0International Labour Organization<\/a>\u00a0(ILO) estimates that real GDP plunged by 83% since the start of the war and the unemployment rate has increased to 80% of the working population (up from about 30% before the war). The loss of income sources has been compounded by high consumer inflation. Food prices have increased 2.5-fold since the start of the war, and the overall consumer price index (CPI) increased almost 3-fold (Figure 2). The figure also shows, however, that the pace of inflation has decelerated since April-May with the larger inflow of food and other necessities crossing the border.<\/p>\n

Figure 2
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