The United Nations reports that over two million Palestinians in Gaza are facing a critical starvation crisis, with malnutrition-related deaths increasing daily.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an organization with ties to Israel and the US, has been active in Gaza since late May. The GHF claims to have distributed 91 million meals, primarily in the form of food boxes.
While the BBC has been unable to independently verify the contents of these boxes due to restricted access for international journalists, BBC Verify has reviewed photos and information provided by the GHF and consulted with aid experts who have expressed concerns regarding their nutritional value.
Videos showing the contents of the boxes have circulated online, but the GHF only recently shared images of the items this week.
Photographs posted on X reveal that the boxes mainly contain dried food items such as pasta, chickpeas, lentils, and wheat flour, requiring water and fuel for preparation. Cooking oil, salt, and tahini (sesame paste) are also included.
The GHF asserts that the boxes also contain some ready-to-eat foods, such as halva bars, a popular snack made from tahini or sesame paste and sugar.
The organization has provided a table detailing a “benchmark” list of items in each box, along with a calorie breakdown.
According to the table, a typical box contains 42,500 calories and is intended to feed 5.5 people for 3.5 days.
The GHF notes that substitute items like tea, biscuits, and chocolate are occasionally included, and potatoes and onions are also being delivered, although these are not included in the nutritional figures.
An international aid development professor from the London School of Economics analyzed the GHF’s list for BBC Verify, stating that while the contents could provide sufficient calories for survival, they have “serious weaknesses”.
“In essence, this basket provides a full stomach but an empty diet,” Prof Stuart Gordon said. “The biggest flaw is what’s missing… This (is) very much a ‘first aid’ food basket, designed to stop the haemorrhaging effect that is acute hunger.”
“A diet like this over weeks would lead to ‘hidden hunger’, increasing the risk of diseases like anaemia and scurvy” he said.
Dr. Andrew Seal, an associate professor of international nutrition at University College London, indicated that the food boxes are deficient in calcium, iron, zinc, and vitamins C, D, B12, and K. He also pointed out the lack of suitable foods for young children.
“Prolonged consumption of these foods, even if they were made available in adequate amounts, would lead to a range of deficiencies and serious health problems,” he stated.
He further noted that, unlike the GHF, agencies such as the UN typically distribute food in bulk and supplement it with targeted nutrition for vulnerable groups. The World Food Programme (WFP) has stated that it also aims to provide emergency supplies for young children and pregnant women.
The GHF did not respond to BBC Verify’s inquiries regarding the nutritional guidance it received for its aid boxes or its plans to address the concerns raised by experts.
Even for those who manage to acquire a box, access to water and fuel remains essential for cooking the dried goods, despite the ongoing water crisis and severe fuel shortage in Gaza.
The UN’s Office of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned this week of the rapidly deteriorating water situation in Gaza, adding that families have been forced to resort to unsafe and unhealthy cooking methods, such as burning waste materials.
The WFP reported in May that official cooking gas supplies had ceased, leading to sales on the black market at prices up to 4,000% higher than pre-conflict levels.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated this week that Gazans face severe shortages of basic supplies and that malnutrition is “soaring”.
The UN’s food aid programme has warned that nearly one in three people in Gaza are experiencing days without food.
“Malnutrition is surging with 90,000 women and children in urgent need of treatment,” the World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday.
Additional reporting by Matt Murphy
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