Does Israel Limit the Amount of Aid Entering Gaza?
Israel’s own bodies count aid entering Gaza: 1.9 million tons on the IDF’s count to August 2025, and 1,778,363 tons of food on COGAT’s.
More than 1.9 million tons of aid had entered Gaza as at 19 August 2025, on the Israel Defense Forces’ own count of aid it states it delivered or coordinated since the start of the Swords of Iron war. That publication states the Israel Defense Forces’ position that no limit is placed on the quantity of humanitarian aid entering Gaza. The tonnage is stated as a floor rather than an exact total, and it is the army’s own count of its own activity.
| Figure | What it counts | Who published it | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Over 1.9 million tons | All aid delivered or coordinated into Gaza, a floor rather than an exact total | Israel Defense Forces | Start of the Swords of Iron war to 19 August 2025 |
| 1,778,363 metric tons | Food recorded entering the Gaza Strip | COGAT | 10 October 2025 to 7 June 2026 |
| 18,000 tons | Medical supplies and medicines entering Gaza | COGAT | Since the ceasefire began 10 October 2025 |
| More than 70,000 cubic meters per day | Water facilitated through external water lines and desalination, excluding local wells | COGAT | As of the July 2026 report |
| More than 106,000 | Aid trucks entering Gaza, carrying over two million tons, both floors | Permanent Mission of Israel to the Multilateral Organizations in France | 7 October 2023 to 14 September 2025 |
| Over 70,000 tons | Aid that had entered Gaza, a floor | Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs | Cumulative to 16 December 2023 |
The IDF states there is no limit on aid quantity
The Israel Defense Forces published its account of aid entry into Gaza with a date stamp of 19 August 2025, and every figure in it is the army’s own count of its own activity. The tonnage totals are stated as floors, so “over 1.9 million tons” is not an exact count. The weekly and aerial figures carry no stated measurement window and are anchored only to that date stamp.
- Over 1.9 million tons of aid delivered, cumulative since the start of the war, as at 19 August 2025.
- 23,000 tons of aid the Israel Defense Forces states it oversaw in the single week ending 19 August 2025.
- 7,800 tons delivered via the aerial route, a running cumulative total as at 19 August 2025.
- Around 600,000 residents the publication states will be served by a new water line, a projection of who will be served rather than a count of who has been served.
COGAT records food, water and medicine entering during the ceasefire
The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories recorded 1,778,363 metric tons of food entering the Gaza Strip between 10 October 2025 and 7 June 2026. The count is COGAT’s own, and rests on tonnages self-declared by humanitarian organizations and private sector providers rather than weighed at the crossings. The full ceasefire-window series, and the definitions behind it, sit in the published record on what COGAT counts entering Gaza.
| Figure | What it counts | Period |
|---|---|---|
| 1,778,363 metric tons | Food entering the Gaza Strip | 10 October 2025 to 7 June 2026 |
| Nearly threefold | Ratio of recorded food entry to the World Food Programme’s monthly requirement benchmark, where only the numerator is COGAT’s | 10 October 2025 to 7 June 2026 |
| 18,000 tons | Medical supplies and medicines | Since the ceasefire began 10 October 2025 |
| More than 70,000 cubic meters per day | Water through external water lines and desalination facilities, excluding local wells | As of the July 2026 report |
| Approximately 72% | Decline in the Gaza food consumer price index | September 2025 to May 2026 |
Source: COGAT, Humanitarian Situation Report During the Ceasefire, July 2026. Every figure is COGAT’s own count of its own activity.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs counted over 70,000 tons to December 2023
The Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported over 70,000 tons of aid entering Gaza cumulative to 16 December 2023, its own count as a party to the conflict, with each total stated as a floor or an approximation. The Permanent Mission of Israel to the Multilateral Organizations in France reported a separate set of totals as of 14 September 2025.
- Over 6,500 tons of medical supplies entering Gaza, cumulative to 16 December 2023, Ministry of Foreign Affairs count.
- Over 750 patients exiting Gaza for care overseas, cumulative to 16 December 2023, Ministry of Foreign Affairs count.
- Approximately 9,500 foreign nationals and dual citizens evacuated from Gaza with Israeli assistance, cumulative to 16 December 2023, Ministry of Foreign Affairs count.
- More than 106,000 aid trucks carrying over two million tons of food, water, medicine and equipment, 7 October 2023 to 14 September 2025, as reported by Israel.
- More than 12,000 aid trucks since May 2025, 80% of them carrying food, as reported by Israel as of 14 September 2025.
COGAT counts goods entering crossings, not distribution inside Gaza
The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories records quantities at the point of entry into the Gaza Strip, and the Israel Defense Forces records aid it states it delivered or coordinated. Neither publication is a count of aid reaching, collected by or consumed by individuals inside Gaza. That is what these figures count, and what they do not count.
No Israeli body publishes a count of rejected aid requests
Checked against the four publications used on this page, none carries a figure of the following kinds. The absence is recorded here and nothing is drawn from it.
- A count of aid requests denied.
- A count of consignments turned back before entry.
- A count of organisations authorised or refused to bring goods in.
- A count of days on which a crossing was closed.
Which figures here may not be added together?
The Israel Defense Forces’ 1.9 million tons covers all aid since the start of the war to 19 August 2025; COGAT’s 1,778,363 metric tons covers food only, between 10 October 2025 and 7 June 2026. They are different universes over different periods and may not be summed, subtracted or read as one series. The floors stay floors: “over 1.9 million tons”, “over 70,000 tons” and “more than 106,000” are never restated as exact numbers. In the nearly threefold ratio, only the numerator is COGAT’s; the denominator is the World Food Programme’s monthly requirement benchmark. The 600,000 water line figure is a projection, and the 23,000 tons and 7,800 tons carry no stated measurement window beyond the 19 August 2025 date stamp.
Questions readers ask
Who counted the 1.9 million tons?
The Israel Defense Forces counted it, in its own self-published account dated 19 August 2025, and states it as a floor rather than an exact total.
What period does COGAT’s food figure cover?
10 October 2025 to 7 June 2026, the ceasefire window as COGAT defines it in its July 2026 report.
How was the food tonnage measured?
COGAT states the tonnages rest on self-declaration by humanitarian organizations and private sector providers rather than weighing at the crossings.
Does COGAT count water from wells inside Gaza?
The more than 70,000 cubic meters per day figure covers external water lines and desalination facilities and excludes local wells, on COGAT’s own statement.
How many aid trucks does Israel report?
More than 106,000 trucks from 7 October 2023 to 14 September 2025, as reported by the Permanent Mission of Israel to the Multilateral Organizations in France, carrying over two million tons.
What share of the recent trucks carried food?
80% of the more than 12,000 trucks entering since May 2025, as reported by Israel as of 14 September 2025.
Does any of these figures count food eaten in Gaza?
No. Each is a count at the point of entry, published by COGAT, the Israel Defense Forces or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, not a count of distribution or consumption.
Does Israel publish a figure for aid requests it declined?
Not in the four publications used here. None carries a count of requests denied or consignments turned back.
What is the threefold figure a ratio of?
COGAT’s recorded food entry set against the World Food Programme’s monthly food requirement benchmark, 10 October 2025 to 7 June 2026.
How far did food prices in Gaza fall?
COGAT reports an approximately 72% decline in the Gaza food consumer price index between September 2025 and May 2026, on its own count.
How many medical tons does COGAT record?
18,000 tons of medical supplies and medicines since the ceasefire began on 10 October 2025, COGAT’s own count.
How many patients did Israel report leaving Gaza for care?
Over 750 patients exited Gaza for care overseas, cumulative to 16 December 2023, on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ own count.
Sources
- COGAT, 2026. Humanitarian Situation Report During the Ceasefire. gaza-aid-data.gov.il. Official or primary record.
- Israel Defense Forces, 2025. Clearing Up the Misconceptions: Everything You Need to Know About the Humanitarian Aid Situation in Gaza. idf.il. Official or primary record.
- Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2023. Israel-Hamas Conflict 2023: Humanitarian Efforts. gov.il. Official or primary record.
- Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Permanent Mission of Israel to the Multilateral Organizations in France, 2025. Israel’s Objectives and Current Operation. embassies.gov.il. Official or primary record.
