Over half of Cropland in Hungry Gaza is Damaged: UN, Geneva
GENEVA: This has left over half of Gaza’s agricultural land, which is crucial to feed the war-affected population, severely damaged the United Nations, also revealed through satellite imagery.
The investigation shows that the rates of annihilating orchards, field crops, and plots of vegetables have surged in Gaza, where people suffer from severe famine after eight months of Israeli aggression.
The WHO on Wednesday said that the vast majority of Gaza’s residents are experiencing food shortages deemed as “catastrophe and famine-like. ”
Using satellite imagery data from May 2017 to 2024, UNOSAT–United Nations Satellite Centre and FAO –United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation found chronic deterioration in the density and health of permanent crop fields and arable land in the Gaza Strip, where 57 percent of fields are permanent crop fields, vital for food security.
“Examining the vegetation index of the Gaza Strip in May 2024, it is observed that the health and density of the crops have significantly lowered than the average of the previous seven seasons,” UNOSAT said on Thursday. ”Such demerit is caused by conflict-related activities such as bunkering, burning, movements of large trucks, bombing, and shelling. ”
UNOSAT pointed out that, based on the samples seen by UNOSAT in April, this augments the area of damaged agricultural land by up to 30%.
The current ground and air campaign of Israel commenced after Hamas broke out an attack on the 7th of October in 2007. and more than a thousand people were killed, and over 250 hostages were reported by Israel.
The subsequent military action has led to over 37,000 fatalities in Gaza, with the health officials in the Hamas-ruled territory putting the figure as the while above, causing massive devastation and Hampering the aid delivery.
Delivering his COVID-19 briefing on Wednesday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus noted that at least one in five children under the age of five in Gaza has been treated for acute malnutrition.
As identified by UNOSAT, greenhouses commonly used in the Gaza Strip have also been significantly destroyed, as have fields of crops, fruit, and nut-bearing trees.
According to the data taken from UNOSAT, the Gaza Strip includes approximately 151 Km2 of agricultural land, which is 41% of the coastal area. This extensive loss of the region’s agricultural land capacity worsens the already deplorable humanitarian situation and complicates recovery and food security.
Therefore, the increasing humanitarian crisis and the destruction of the Gaza Strip’s agricultural land call and demand the international community’s attention and assistance to support the devastated population and the food security of an already struggling region.
