NEW
Food Supplied to Gaza During Seven Months of the Hamas-Israel War
Published, Israel Journal of Health Policy Research
Prof. Aron Troen is a member of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he directs the Nutrition and Brain Health Laboratory and teaches in the School of Nutrition Science and the School of Public Health. Much of his research is concerned with clarifying the basic biological connection between dietary quality and brain health. However, for many people, putting nutritional insight into practice is not simply a matter of life-style choices, but a matter of life-circumstances. Prevalent food insecurity is a key driver of ill health, deprivation and economic harm worldwide, including in High Income Countries like Israel. Evidence-based policy is essential to improve the food security, welfare, health and resilience of individuals and nations, to enhance the quality of the food supply, and to ensure that it is equitable, safe and sustainable. Therefore, in addition to his core translational research, Troen’s evolving research and public service activities examine Israeli food policy reform and anti-obesity legislation, micronutrient fortification and food security, including during the COVID pandemic. He is particularly interested in how Israeli policies affect disparities in diet and health that correspond to socioeconomic and ethnic differences in food insecurity. He serves on several government committees on nutrition, health and food security, and on the Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute steering committee for evaluating the Israeli government’s front of package food labeling policy, and he recently led a Food Security round table in the State of Israel Food System Dialogues in preparation for the UN World Food Summit.
Troen received his doctorate from Oxford University and BSc from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Prior to returning home to join the Hebrew University, he was on faculty at the Freidman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, and the Jean Mayer United Stated Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University.
NEW
Food Supplied to Gaza During Seven Months of the Hamas-Israel War
Published, Israel Journal of Health Policy Research
Fliss-Isakov N, Nitzan D, Blaychfeld-Magnazi M, Mendlovic J, Alroy-Preis S, Twig G, Troen AM, Endevelt R. Food supplied to Gaza during seven months of the Hamas-Israel war. Israel Journal of Health Policy Research. 2025;14:8. doi: 10.1186/s13584-025-00668-6
Miller JW, Smith A, Troen AM, Mason JB, Jacques PF, Selhub J. Excess Folic Acid and Vitamin B12 Deficiency: Clinical Implications? Food and Nutrition Bulletin. 2024 Jun;45(1_suppl):S67-S72. doi: 10.1177/03795721241229503
Ben Mordechay E, Abdeen Z, Robeen S, Schwartz S, Abdeen AM, Mordehay V, Troen AM et al. Regional Water and Food Security Require Joint Israeli-Palestinian Guidelines for Wastewater Reuse and Food Safety. Food and Nutrition Bulletin. 2024 Dec;45(4):113-124.
Endevelt R, Tulchinsky TH, Stahl Z, Mor Z, Davidovitch N, Levine H, Troen AM. Challenges and obstacles implementing evidence-based food fortification policy in a high-income country. Frontiers in Public Health. 2023;11:1052314. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1052314
Troen AM, Martins APB, Aguado IH, Popkin B, Mozaffarian D, Caraher M et al. Israel decides to cancel sweetened beverage tax in setback to public health. The Lancet. 2023 Feb 18;401(10376):553-554. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(23)00214-3
Kamin-Friedman S, Levine H, Davidovitch N, Troen AM, Yang YT. Israel's judicial overhaul: a threat to the Health in All Policies approach. The Lancet. 2023 Aug 26;402(10403):689-690. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(23)01663-x
Azarieva J, Berry EM, Troen AM. Child food insecurity in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic: urgent need for policy evaluation and reform in Israel’s school feeding programs. Israel Journal of Health Policy Research. 2022 Dec;11(1):13. doi: 10.1186/s13584-022-00523-y
Selhub J, Miller JW, Troen AM, Mason JB, Jacques PF. Perspective: The High-Folate-Low-Vitamin B-12 Interaction Is a Novel Cause of Vitamin B-12 Depletion with a Specific Etiology - A Hypothesis. Advances in Nutrition. 2022 Jan 1;13(1):16-33. doi: 10.1093/advances/nmab106
Heller O, Chun Y, Shapira S, Troen A, Shlomo Y, Acri M et al. Prevalence of Long-COVID Among Low-Income and Marginalized Groups: Evidence From Israel. International Journal of Public Health. 2022 Nov 28;67:1605086. doi: 10.3389/ijph.2022.1605086
Møllehave LT, Eliasen MH, Strēle I, Linneberg A, Moreno-Reyes R, Ivanova LB, Kusić Z, Erlund I, Ittermann T, Nagy EV, Gunnarsdottir I, Arbelle JE, Troen AM et al. Register-based information on thyroid diseases in Europe: lessons and results from the EUthyroid collaboration. Endocrine Connections. 2022 Mar;11(3):e210525. doi: 10.1530/EC-21-0525
Published by Israel Journal of Health Policy Research
Naomi Fliss-Isakov, Dorit Nitzan, Moran Blaychfeld Magnazi, Joseph Mendlovic, Sharon Alroy Preis, Gilad Twig, Aron M. Troen & Ronit Endevelt
Israel Journal of Health Policy Research volume 14, Article number: 8 (2025)
Background
The ongoing Hamas-Israel war has put the civilian population in Gaza at risk of severe food and nutrition insecurity. Our goal was to provide objective, verifiable data to ascertain amounts and nutritional content of food supplied to Gaza through Israeli border crossings from January to July 2024. We aimed to assess their compliance with Sphere international humanitarian standards for food security and nutrition maintenance in crisis affected populations.
Methods
We obtained the registry of all food supplied to Gaza via air drops and land crossings from Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) from January to July 2024. This registry itemizes daily food shipments, their items and estimated weights. Food items in shipments were categorized, quantified, assessed and summed for energy (kcal), protein (g), fat (g), iron (mg) content, based on food labels and composition tables. We then calculated supply per capita per day supplied to the the Gaza Strip, according to the most recent population census of Gaza. Finally, we compared it to the Sphere standards for population food security.
Results
Adjusting for projected food losses, a net total of 478,229 metric tons of food was supplied to Gaza over the seven consecutively studied months. The average amount of energy available per person per day was 3,004 kcal, with 98 g of protein (13% of energy), 61 g of fat (18% of energy), and 23 mg of iron. Except for February, when entries dropped from January, there was a steady increase in the tonnage, energy, macronutrients and iron content of donated foods supplied to Gaza registered by COGAT. The amounts of energy, protein, and fat, but not dietary iron, in food crossing the border into Gaza consistently exceeded Sphere standards after making conservative adjustment for high food loss and the age distribution of the Gazan population.
Conclusions
This study assessed food deliveries by type, amount and nutrient composition, supplied to Gaza from January to July 2024. We found that, except in February, food crossing the borders into Gaza exceeded per capita minimal requirements for humanitarian aid. While reliable data do not exist for critical dimensions of food access and consumption across Gaza, these estimates suggest that adequate amounts of nutritious food were being transported into the Gaza Strip during most of the 1st half of 2024. We propose that with increased cooperation of all partners and shared efforts to overcome barriers, communication and data sharing, the UN Food Security Cluster, COGAT and humanitarian assistance agencies can develop a comprehensive, continually updated database to gauge food availability, access, nutritional value, and gaps to address, especially in the areas most disrupted by conflict in Gaza. This will also help ensure that food donations supplied to Gaza reach populations in greatest need.
Interested candidates should send CV and brief statement of interest to:
Prof. Aron Troen
Nutrition and Brain Health Laboratory
Institute of Biochemistry, Food Science and Nutrition
The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
P.O.Box 12, Rehovot 76100, Israel
Email Address: aron.troen@mail.huji.ac.il