Palestinian Territory - Israel has forced over 75% of agricultural land in the Gaza Strip from the Palestinianpeople's hands, either by isolating it in preparation for illegally annexing it to its military "buffer zone" or by bulldozing or otherwise damaging it, thereby destroying the Strip's supply of fruits, vegetables, and meat. Furthermore, Israel has barred food supplies and humanitarian aid from entering the Strip, exacerbating the famine there and enabling the use of starvation as a weapon of war in its crime of genocide, ongoing for nearly nine consecutive months.
Since the start of its military assault on the Gaza Strip on 7 October 2023, the Israeli army has worked methodically to destroy livestock, agricultural lands, and bird farms in a consistent manner with the clearintention of starving the populace and denying them access to the staple foods of fruits, vegetables, and white and red meat. This has left the population's survival dependent on the Israeli decision to allow or prohibit the entry of humanitarian aid.
According to Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern Strip, four children starved to death in a single weekdue to Israel's decision, bringing the total number of starvation victims in the Strip to approximately 40.
In an attempt to annex it to the "buffer zone", in violation of international law, Israeli forces havebulldozed and destroyed all agricultural lands along its"security fence". The zone is approximately 2 kilometres wide and runs along both the Strip's northern and eastern borders, resulting in the removalof approximately 96 square kilometres from the Palestinian people. In addition, about 3 square kilometres have been lost as a result of the construction of a road and another "buffer zone" that separates Gaza City from its centre via the Israeli-built Netzarim axis, isolating approximately 27.5% of the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli army has attempted to almost entirely demolish all the buildings and facilities on the vast majority of these lands, which are located in the "buffer zone" that residents, including farmers, are not allowed to access. Hundreds of Palestinian farms had been built on hundreds of acres planted with vegetables and fruits, in addition to hundreds of farms that raisedlivestock and birds.
Beyond this "buffer zone", additional land has beendestroyed by Israeli ground incursions as well as aerial and artillery bombardment, affecting at least 34 square kilometres of agricultural land. This results in a total of 36.9% of destroyed land—more than 75% of the Gaza Strip's agricultural land.
The remaining lands set aside for agriculture are extremely sparse, with the majority located in the Al-Mawasi region west of Khan Yunis, which is currently housing hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people.
Euro-Med Monitor field teams have documented that the Israeli army deliberately killed many farmers whowere working or trying to reach their lands and farms, in addition to destroying thousands of farms, greenhouses, water wells and tanks, and agricultural equipment stores. Israeli forces also killed several fishermen and destroyed fishing ports and most fishing boats since the start of the genocide. This suggests that Israel has purposefully worked to destroy quality food and the basic supplies needed for survival, without any necessity, which affects the approximately 2.3 million Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip who require adequate, healthy foods in order to live. The effects of these crimes will be felt for a minimum of several years following the end of Israel's genocide.
Palestinian farmers in the Strip are finding it difficult to access areas that have been spared from bombardment,due to the ongoing bombing and ground incursion by Israel into numerous areas. Additionally, the lack of water resulting from power outages, the destruction of water wells, and a severe shortage of fuel makes it impossible to cultivate and irrigate other areas. This occurs as the Israeli army forces continue to use starvation as a tool and weapon of war by blocking or impeding the delivery of humanitarian aid to locals andinternally displaced people.
According to a recent assessment conducted by the Food and Agriculture Organisation and the Operational Satellite Applications Programme (UNOSAT), operations related to conflict, heavy vehicle movement, aerial and artillery bombardment, and bulldozing have resulted in a significant decline in crop health and density throughout the sector. It is estimated that 57% of Gaza's agricultural land was damaged as of May 2024, up from over 40% in mid-February 2024. Khan Yunis claims the greatest portion of damaged agricultural land, while Rafah's affected agricultural area doubled from 4.52 to 9.22 square kilometres in May when compared to February.
Furthermore, an evaluation carried out by the Food and Agricultural Organisation revealed that as of 23 April, roughly 30% of the Gaza Strip's greenhouse areas was damaged, with the Gaza City and North Gaza governorates experiencing the worst damage (roughly 80% of the area containing greenhouses there was destroyed). As of 20 May, the Israeli military had damaged hundreds of agricultural buildings, including 256 agricultural warehouses, 484 broiler farms, 397 sheep barns, and 537 household barns, plus roughly 46% of the Strip's 2,261 agricultural wells.
The devastating effects of the ongoing Israeli military attacks are being felt by the public, the environment, and agricultural lands, with water quality, soil quality, and air quality all being negatively affected. These effects compound over time, and at some point, there may be startling increases in the number of fatalities.
Access to food, water, and sanitation is an internationally recognised human right, and one thatprotects a population's health and preserves its dignity. This right can only be realised if the international community puts an end to Israel's crime of genocide, forces it to lift its strict siege—which is a form of collective punishment and a war crime in itself—and works to preserve what remains in the Strip. Every day of delay presents a serious risk to the health and lives of civilians in the region.
The international community needs to act swiftly and forcefully to prevent Israel from continuing to carry out its crime of genocide in the Gaza Strip, which it is doing by either killing Palestinians directly or depriving them of all chances of survival and recovery, through destroying the Strip's basic infrastructure for housing and subsistence.
Along with ensuring that basic food and non-food supplies are allowed into the Gaza Strip, the international community must also make sure that other types of humanitarian aid are allowed to enter the area, including the northern Strip, in a safe and timely manner, in order to address the health and environmental crisis.
Pressure must be applied to Israel to ensure that supplies of fuel are delivered in sufficient quantities to run the water and sanitation infrastructure, which includes water wells and desalination plants, as well asmaterials required for repairs to, and rehabilitation work on, civilian infrastructure. These services are essential to the civilian population in the Gaza Strip,and will protect the Palestinian people there from the risk of further health disasters.
