The ICC claimed Gazans were starving. They lied.

A groundbreaking study by Israeli public health experts has thrust a data-driven wedge into the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) investigation of Israel over alleged starvation in Gaza, laying bare a stark reality: food has flowed into the Strip in sufficient quantities, but Hamas’s iron grip on aid has turned abundance into scarcity. Released this week, as Israel halts all goods to Gaza following Hamas’s refusal to release 59 hostages, the findings challenge a narrative of famine that’s fueled global condemnation—and shine a harsh light on the terror group’s exploitation of its own people.

The study, titled “Food Supplied to Gaza During Seven Months of the Hamas-Israel War,” emerges as a rebuttal to ICC charges and UN warnings that have painted Israel as the architect of hunger. Led by nutrition specialists Aron Troen and Ronit Endevelt, alongside researchers from Hebrew University, Ben-Gurion University, Tel Aviv University, Haifa University, and the Ministry of Health, it dissects food shipments from January to July 2024, processed through Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT). The numbers are unflinching: 14,916 trucks delivered 227,854 tons of food between January and April alone—124 trucks daily—yielding an average of 3,374 calories per capita, with 101 grams of protein and 80.6 grams of fat. By Sphere humanitarian standards, that’s not just enough; it’s more than adequate.

“We didn’t enter politics,” Endevelt told Haaretz. “We just wanted to know if, from a nutritional perspective, the food entering Gaza was sufficient. We double-checked our data multiple times to avoid exaggeration.” The team tracked every shipment’s caloric and nutritional content against international benchmarks, finding no evidence of famine or deliberate deprivation. Yet, as markets in Deir al-Balah teemed with vendors last summer—a scene captured in photographs—the question lingers: why the persistent cries of hunger?

Hamas’s Shadow Over Aid

The answer, the study asserts, lies not in supply but in distribution—a process Hamas has weaponized. “Hamas systematically used food as a tool of control,” Endevelt said. “Aid often didn’t reach those in need because Hamas seized supplies, sold them on the black market, or prioritized its fighters. Reports of famine are not due to a lack of aid but Hamas’s deliberate strategy.” Retired Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, a former IDF spokesperson now with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, echoed this to Haaretz: “Over 25,200 trucks arrived during the ceasefire—enough for four months. If there’s hunger, it’s because of Hamas corruption, not a lack of food.”

This distinction cuts to the core of the study’s challenge to the ICC, which last year issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over Gaza’s humanitarian crisis. The UN’s Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) warned of “imminent famine” in March 2024, a claim Troen dismantles with precision. “One of the most persistent falsehoods has been that 500 humanitarian trucks entered Gaza daily before the war,” he said. “In reality, it was around or fewer than 100. Since the war, that number has increased substantially. Our study shows no point where food supply dropped to starvation levels.”

Yet Gazans have told of empty shelves and desperate days—testimonies that haunt the data’s clarity. Endevelt doesn’t deny this. “We can’t say there was no hunger,” she conceded, “but we can confirm enough food entered. Most of the time, in most months, there was enough available.” The gap, she insists, is Hamas’s doing—a calculated chokehold on aid that’s left civilians grasping while the group hoards.

A Study Under Siege

Publishing this wasn’t easy. “Given the anti-Israel bias in parts of the scientific community, we chose the Israeli Journal of Health Policy Research,” Troen explained, noting its peer-reviewed rigor under Springer Nature. “We wanted the data out fast to improve humanitarian efforts, but the political climate made the review brutal.” Endevelt added: “This was one of the most rigorously reviewed studies I’ve ever done—five reviewers, months of revisions, all to ensure absolute accuracy.”

The ICC’s response? A measured sidestep. “Our investigations draw from a wide range of sources,” the Office of the Prosecutor told Haaretz, citing confidentiality and declining to address the study directly. The UN, via its IPC, offered silence despite an extended deadline. Meanwhile, Israel’s latest move—halting all supplies to Gaza as of last week after Hamas rejected a hostage deal—has the Trump administration’s nod, with Deputy Special Envoy Morgan Ortagus signaling support on Fox News. UN relief chief Tom Fletcher called it “alarming,” but Conricus counters: “Israel ensures aid enters; Hamas decides who eats.”

Data vs. Narrative

The study stands as a clarion call: Gaza’s hunger isn’t Israel’s design but Hamas’s gambit. “Distribution must improve,” Troen concluded. “Effective cooperation between UN agencies, COGAT, and Palestinian civil society—without Hamas’s interference—is crucial.” The numbers—3,374 calories daily, 227,854 tons of food—mock the starvation myth, yet the human cost persists, a paradox of plenty in a land of want. For Israel, it’s vindication; for Gaza’s people, it’s a plea drowned by politics and power.

Fox News contributed to this article.