The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is delivering large quantities of animal feed to the Gaza Strip for the first time since the war started in October.
The first 150 tons of a total of 1,500 ton of animal feed were distributed to more than 2,400 households with livestock in the sealed-off coastal strip, as the UN organization announced on Friday.
The aim is to support the local production of foodstuffs such as dairy products, eggs and meat in the midst of an impending famine.
The collapse of the agricultural value chain after the start of the war had led to a rapid deterioration in acute food security in the Gaza Strip.
Prior to the war, local food producers were almost self-sufficient in supplying the population with milk, eggs, meat, vegetables and fruit, the FAO said.
Since October 7, when the war started after a Palestinian Islamist massacre in Israel, around 55% of meat and dairy cattle had been slaughtered and eaten or had died. There were only around 30,000 sheep and goats left in March, the FAO said.
"It's not enough just to eat bread. You need to eat vegetables. You need to have access to proteins. You need to be able to access milk as well," said Rein Paulsen, FAO director for Emergencies and Resilience. This is why the delivery of animal feed is so important.
The total of 1,500 tons planned could ensure that all children under the age of 10 in Gaza are supplied with milk for around 50 days, covering around 20% of the recommended minimum calorie requirement.