DEIR AL BALAH/PALESTINE, Oct 15 (Bernama-Anadolu) — Gaza’s agricultural sector has also been left in ruins after two years of Israeli military operations, with vast farmlands destroyed, livestock lost and food production crippled across the besieged enclave, Anadolu Ajansi reported.
The Gaza Strip, known for decades for its farms stretching from the northern town of Beit Lahiya to the southern city of Rafah, is reportedly experiencing one of the greatest agricultural collapses in its history.
The situation is further exacerbated by the near-total absence of vital inputs such as fuel, seeds, fertilisers, irrigation and agricultural protection materials.
The Israeli army destroyed more than 94 per cent of the region’s 178,000 acres of agricultural land.
This destruction reduced the annual agricultural production capacity from 405,000 tons to approximately 28,000 tons, according to data from the Government Media Office in Gaza.
Agricultural sector suffered approximately US$2.8 billion in damage as a result of Israel’s two-year attacks, according to a report by the media office published on Oct 6.
Findings revealed that after two years of destruction, vegetable-cultivated agricultural areas fell from 93,000 acres to just 4,000 acres.
During the same period, the Israeli army rendered 1,233 agricultural wells unusable and destroyed more than 85 per cent of greenhouses.
Farmers emphasised that reopening Gaza’s border crossings and allowing the entry of all agricultural supplies particularly seeds and irrigation equipment is an ‘urgent necessity’ to revive the devastated sector.
Hamas and Israel reached the ceasefire last week, as part of United States President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan to end the war, release all hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, deliver aid and rebuild Gaza.
Since Oct 2023, Israeli attacks have killed over 67,800 Palestinians in the enclave, most of them women and children and rendered it largely uninhabitable.
— BERNAMA-ANADOLU