FEWS Net Gaza Update: Food Aid Increases in April But Food Supplies, Access Remain Low

Despite an increase in food aid delivered to the region, the food security situation in the Gaza Strip remains dire, according to an updated FEWS Net report released in late April.

In March and April, approximately 80,000-88,000 tons of food was delivered to Gaza via land. Of this, 90 percent came from humanitarian aid deliveries and 10 percent from commercial deliveries. While this represents a significant increase from previous months, truck deliveries continue to face serious challenges. Border crossing remains time-consuming, with many deliveries still being denied entry into the region.

An additional nearly 3,000 tons of food was supplied via air drop between February and April. Again, while air drops increased from previous months, challenges with this mode of delivery remain, including the risk of food loss from air-dropped parcels near the coastline landing in the water. In addition, FEWS Net emphasizes that there is no information regarding how these parcels are distributed across the population or to local markets.

Additional factors hamper distribution of food within Gaza even after initial entry into the region. These include risk of Israeli air strike, a shortage of approved trucks and drivers allowed to transport goods within the region, denial or postponement of humanitarian convoys, and damage to infrastructure like roads and bridges.

Severe food insecurity within Gaza is being further driven by destruction of agricultural land and infrastructure. The report cites that as of March, 55 percent of Gaza’s agricultural land was unusable, and much of the remaining usable land had become inaccessible to the population. While agriculture only accounted for around 3 percent of Gaza’s total food consumption prior to October, this still represents a critical loss of domestic food supplies, particularly fruits, vegetables, and wheat.

Due to the continued lack of reliable and adequate supplies, food prices and food price inflation continued to rise sharply in March and April. FEWS Net reports that food price inflation has increased by nearly 194 percent between September 2023 and March 2024. Food prices also continue to be high and volatile for the majority of commodities, although some food items began to show more stability in April as food aid deliveries increased.

This combination of low supplies and high and volatile prices, coupled with ongoing security threats, displacement, and infrastructure destruction, means that both market functionality and households’ access to markets remains severely limited. FEWS Net reports that very few formal shops remain in Gaza, with the majority of trade being conducted by informal street vendors. While stocks in both formal and informal markets increased in April, they remain unpredictable.

Sara Gustafson is a freelance communications consultant.