The Gaza Famine That Wasn’t

By Philip Klein

Tuesday, June 18, 2024

 

Remember months ago when we were hearing that Gaza was on the brink of famine? In case you need a refresher, this is from a March BBC report:

 

According to the UN, famine is imminent in northern Gaza, and could occur any time up to May 2024. It follows months of conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza after the 7 October Hamas attacks on Israel.

 

Half the population – about 1.1m people – are starving, according to the IPC classification. In the worst-case scenario, the entire population of Gaza will be in famine by July 2024.

 

The reports of mass starvation even helped lead the ICC to issue arrest warrants against Israeli leaders. Yet, like many claims made by Israel’s enemies and routinely parroted around the media, it has turned out to be completely false. The Jerusalem Post reports:

 

Columbia University Professors Awi Federgruen and Ran Kivetz have analyzed available data and conducted research whose “findings demonstrate that sufficient amounts of food are being supplied into Gaza,” they noted in a summary of their findings presented to The Jerusalem Post.

 

They note that it is “a myth that Israel is responsible for famine in Gaza.” They argue that the International Criminal Court and UN have joined Hamas in blaming Israel for a “famine that never was, hoping to stop the war [in Gaza].”

 

More specifically, they explain:

 

“We found that the food supply entering Gaza is more than sufficient to feed all 2.2 million Gazans according to what is considered a normal diet in North America.  This is because if just 250 truckloads enter Gaza every day (more actually enter), and assuming the food is adequately distributed, every Gazan would receive the amount of food that the average individual consumes in North America.  This is in addition to the food that Gazans continue to produce themselves.”

 

To the extent that there are food shortages in the Strip, the issue is not food being let in by Israel, but aid being stolen or disrupted once it is inside of Gaza. But the blame for that rests squarely with Hamas, which is using claims of mass starvation to whip up international pressure against Israel.