Less than 5% of Gaza’s agricultural land is useable, UN assessment finds

Less than five per cent of Gaza’s agricultural land can be cultivated due to damage and access restrictions “exacerbating the risk of famine in the area”, according to a UN assessment published yesterday, Reuters reported.

“This level of destruction is not just a loss of infrastructure – it is a collapse of Gaza’s agrifood system and of lifelines,” said Beth Bechdol, deputy director-general of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) which produced the assessment alongside the UN Satellite Centre.

Before Israel’s bombing campaign in Gaza began over 19 months ago, Palestinian farmers cultivated a range of crops including citrus fruits, dates and olives, despite the area being among the most densely populated in the world.

Now, half a million people face starvation, according to a global hunger monitor, amid Israeli restrictions on food imports after an 11-week blockade.

In total, just 688 hectares, or 4.6 per cent of the total area, is available for cultivation, the UN assessment said.

It showed that more than 80 per cent of Gaza’s agricultural land has been damaged in the war. A total of 77.8 per cent is not accessible, the statement said, based on a UN assessment of Israeli restricted sites and evacuation orders.

The report found that nearly three-quarters of greenhouses and over 80 per cent of wells have been damaged, according to the assessment based on high-resolution satellite imagery.

It described the situation as “particularly critical” in the southern area of Rafah and in the northern areas where nearly all cropland is inaccessible, the statement said.