Satellite images analyzed by the United Nations showed that more than half of the area of agricultural land in the Gaza Strip, which is necessary to feed the Strip’s hungry population, has been destroyed due to the ongoing war on the Strip for more than 8 months.
The data revealed an increase in the destruction of farms, field crops, and vegetables in Gaza, where hunger is spreading more than 8 months after the start of the Israeli aggression.
Using satellite images taken between May 2017 and 2024, the United Nations Satellite Center (UNOSAT) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) found that 57% of Gaza’s permanent crop fields and arable land essential for food security had shrunk in area and quality. Significantly.
The center said on Thursday, “The quality and density of crops deteriorated significantly throughout the Gaza Strip in May 2024 compared to the average of the previous seven seasons.”
He continued, “This deterioration is due to conflict-related activities, which include demolition work, heavy vehicle traffic, and bombing.”
He added that this decrease represents a 30% increase in affected agricultural lands since he published his previous analysis in April.
The UNOSAT Center stated that, in addition to the damage to crop fields and orchards, greenhouses throughout the Gaza Strip were subjected to significant damage.
According to UNOSAT data, the Gaza Strip owns an estimated 151 square kilometers of agricultural land, which constitutes about 41% of the Strip’s territory.
Warnings
The World Health Organization warned yesterday, Wednesday, that many residents of the Strip are exposed to a “catastrophic level of hunger and famine-like conditions.”
The Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said yesterday, Wednesday, that there are more than 8,000 children under the age of five in Gaza who have received treatment for acute malnutrition.
Since last October 7, Israel has been waging a war on Gaza that has left more than 122,000 Palestinians dead or wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 10,000 missing, while destruction has affected most areas of Gaza and led to the cutting off of aid routes.