JERUSALEM — Israel's Defense Ministry says it calculated the number of calories Gaza's residents would have to consume to avoid malnutrition during a sweeping land blockade imposed on the Palestinian territory between 2007 and mid-2010.

Military spokesman Maj. Guy Inbar says this was done to identify when foods were in short supply and to avoid a humanitarian crisis.

Israeli rights group Gisha contends that Israel defined those red lines in order to restrict the quantities of goods and basic products it allowed into Gaza.

In September 2007, Israel identified Gaza as a "hostile territory" following the strip's takeover by the violently anti-Israel Hamas. It called for "severe restrictions" on civilians that included limitations on food.

Inbar says Israel never used the calculation to restrict food to Gaza. Gisha disputes that claim.