Published On 7/6/2026
The displaced farmers of Gaza are experiencing a double humanitarian tragedy, which is not limited to the loss of their homes and property, but also extends to the destruction of their agricultural lands, which were their only source of livelihood, in light of a tightening Israeli siege that prevents the entry of agricultural production requirements and threatens the lives of more than two million Palestinians with hunger.
A displaced farmer describes her daily suffering, noting that high prices prevent her from purchasing what her family needs, forcing her to rely on growing vegetables around her tent.
She explained how she transformed a small area of land into a miniature garden that produces tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, and molokhiya to provide a living for her family, which includes orphaned children.
The farmer said – to a report broadcast on Al Jazeera Live – that the Israeli occupation destroyed everyone’s homes and lands and deprived them of the right to return to them, as their lands were now within the “yellow line” set by the occupation forces, making access to them impossible, with continued bombing and shells that prevented people from approaching them. She added that farming around tents had become the only solution to provide daily food for the family and children.
Another farmer indicated that her family owned a large plot of land on which it grew olives, dates, and citrus fruits, but the occupation took control of it completely, and there was no longer any way to return to it, due to the continuous bombing targeting anyone who tried to approach the agricultural areas.
Farms are a line of defense
These farms represent a vital line of defense against the “starvation” policy pursued by the Israeli occupation against the residents of Gaza, as the report explains, as thousands of displaced people resort to exploiting the available spaces around their tents to secure the minimum amount of food for their children and to confront the high prices of basic goods.
In a related context, field data reveal the scale of the disaster that befell the agricultural sector in Gaza, as the area of agricultural land in the Gaza Strip is 178 dunums, with the occupation putting about 90% of it out of service, whether by bombing and bulldozing or by falling inside the yellow line. The occupation also destroyed 85% of the agricultural greenhouses, and the cultivated areas shrank from about 93 thousand dunums (9,300) hectares to only 4 thousand dunums. (400) hectares, as the report explains.
Expert estimates indicate that the destruction of food production components in Gaza falls within a path that perpetuates hunger and deepens dependence on aid, as field reports documented the destruction of about 4 million fruit trees and thousands of wells and greenhouses, while direct losses in the agricultural and livestock sector are estimated at about $2.8 billion.
