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1 | Engineering Ecocide: Israel’s Deliberate Destruction of Food Production in Gaza | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2 | Visual by Visualizing Palestine and Growing Palestine | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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4 | STATEMENT | DESCRIPTION/EXCERPT | SOURCE | PUBLISHED | SOURCE URL | LAST ACCESSED | |||||||||||||||||||||
5 | "Despite the physical obliteration of campuses, laboratories, libraries, and other facilities, and the assassination of our students and colleagues, our universities continue to exist. We are more than buildings — we are academic communities, comprised of students, faculty, and staff, still alive and determined to carry forward our mission." | Excerpt from "An open letter from the presidents of Gaza universities" | Ayman Sobh, Omar Milad, Asad Asaad in Al Jazeera | 2025 | https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2025/7/14/an-open-letter-from-the-presidents-of-gaza-universities | January 20, 2026 | |||||||||||||||||||||
6 | Ecocide (definition) | "'Ecocide' refers to severe, widespread, and long-term environmental destruction that undermines the ability of inhabitants to enjoy and sustain life." | Qumsiyeh, Mazin in the Ecologist | 2025 | https://theecologist.org/2025/sep/02/ecocide-and-resistance-palestine | June 1, 2026 | |||||||||||||||||||||
7 | Before 1948–1967 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
8 | Key crops: fruit trees - citrus, dates, olives, almonds | "The Lost Orchard: The Palestinian-Arab Citrus Industry, 1850-1950" details the well-established and flourishing Palestinian citrus industry that preceded the Zionist enterprise. | Kabha, Mustafa and Nahum Karlinsky | 2021 | https://mngbookshop.co.uk/9780815636809/the-lost-orchard/ | June 1, 2026 | |||||||||||||||||||||
9 | There is a long history of date farming in Gaza. The name of the Gaza governate Deir Al-Balah translates to "Monastery of the Date Palm," and an estimated 200,000 date trees were cultivated in Gaza prior to 2023. | Palestine Cluster | https://www.pal-cluster.ps/page.php?id=ZVqoSM8vkIa68472A8q9oL12gO8 | June 1, 2026 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
10 | Almond and olive cultivation featured among Palestine's agricultural outputs in the 1930s and 40s | Temper, Leah in Historia Agraria, 48 | 2009 | https://www.historiaagraria.com/FILE/articulos/48leah.pdf | June 1, 2026 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
11 | % of workforce in agriculture: 40% (1967) | "Between 1948 and 1967, agriculture contributed more than one-third of Gaza's GDP, 33-40% of the employment, and 90% of all exports, with citrus and fruits as the main exported products." | Palestine Trade Center | 2017 | https://paltrade.org/uploads/15951034871868344640.pdf | June 1, 2026 | |||||||||||||||||||||
12 | Before 1948, Gaza was part of Palestine’s “citrus belt,” which produced the second largest citrus export in the world. | A 1938 report titled "The Citrus Industry in Palestine" by N. William Hazen for the United States Department of Agriculture states, "although Palestine ranks fifth as a world citrus producer, it is the world's second largest exporter of citrus fruit, coming after Spain, and its shipments exceed by far those of the United States." The report also describes the "citrus belt" as an area in Palestine "concentrated in the Maritime Plain, on the Mediterranean Coast...extending from a point near Gaza, in the south, to Acre, which lies about 12 miles north of Haifa." | United States Department of Agriculture Bureau of Agricultural Economics | 1938 | https://www.google.com/url?q=https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/365806/files/BAE-FS-78.pdf&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1780347985867184&usg=AOvVaw1rdJriyF6ZTTrdSZ8F0R5Y | June 1, 2026 | |||||||||||||||||||||
13 | In 1967, Israel occupied Gaza and imposed trade restrictions to deliberately destroy the citrus industry. | "Israeli policies wiped out citrus production through preventing farmers from exporting to Israel, forbidding the planting of new trees or replacing old trees." | Palestine Trade Center | 2017 | https://paltrade.org/uploads/15951034871868344640.pdf | June 1, 2026 | |||||||||||||||||||||
14 | "After occupying the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 1967, Israel prevented Palestinians from importing and exporting without its authorization, and even then, they could only import through Israel and Israeli merchants." | Interactive Encyclopedia of the Palestine Question | https://www.palquest.org/en/highlight/38815/palestinian-israeli-protocol-economic-relations | June 1, 2026 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
15 | 1990–2007 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
16 | % of workforce in agriculture: 14% (2000) | "This caused further decline in the contribution of the agriculture sector to Gaza's GDP to 7% in 2000, lowering total exports to around 23%, and constituting 14% of the employment." | Palestine Trade Center | 2017 | https://paltrade.org/uploads/15951034871868344640.pdf | June 1, 2026 | |||||||||||||||||||||
17 | Key crops: strawberries, flowers | "After 1967, Israel encouraged Gazan farmers to grow vegetables and strawberries as they are more profitable, especially for export. These crops required new costly inputs and technologies such as greenhouses and irrigation systems with higher costs." | Palestine Trade Center | 2017 | https://paltrade.org/uploads/15951034871868344640.pdf | June 1, 2026 | |||||||||||||||||||||
18 | After Israel’s destruction of traditional agricultural practices, international donors imposed cash crops on Palestinian farmers. These crops required imported seeds and access to global markets, increasing Israel’s power to destroy farmers’ livelihoods by controlling Gaza’s imports and exports. | "Flower cultivation in the Gaza Strip...flourished in the mid-1990s. Once known for growing citrus and fruit, the farmers of Gaza had been forced to change their produce due to the Israeli occupation policies around the 1967 War, which resulted in evictions and land confiscations (including the West Bank and Gaza Strip). Those practices included preventing citrus exports to Israel, prohibiting planting new trees or replacing old ones, and going over to growing only specific crops—such as strawberries." | Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung | 2020 | https://www.rosalux.de/en/news/id/43222/flowers-under-siege | June 1, 2026 | |||||||||||||||||||||
19 | "The cultivation of cut-flowers in the Gaza Strip began in 1994 and 1995 when 50 dunams of cut-flowers were planted under the aegis of the Netherlands Representative Office." | Al-Mezan | 2007 | https://www.mezan.org/uploads/files/2565.pdf | June 1, 2026 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
20 | In 2007, Israel’s blockade crushed the flower industry. | "The siege of Gaza (2007) led to the complete ban of flower exports. The sector has relatively died out, yet we reserved a couple of dunams [1,000 square metres] for the local market.” | Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung | 2020 | https://www.rosalux.de/en/news/id/43222/flowers-under-siege | June 1, 2026 | |||||||||||||||||||||
21 | In June 2007: "Overnight, Gaza traders lost all access to markets outside the Strip, including their most important and natural markets in Israel and the West Bank, where 85 percent of the goods shipped out of Gaza had been sold in the period prior to June 2007. Israel’s restrictions led exit of agricultural goods to plummet from about 3,544 tons per month in the first half of 2007 (see graph 1) to virtually zero in the immediate period after June 2007, contributing to the Strip’s economic collapse." | Gisha | 2023 | https://gisha.org/en/low-hanging-fruit/ | June 1, 2026 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
22 | "In 2003, cut-flower farmers stopped cultivating their greenhouses in northern Gaza as a result of the destruction engendered from IOF attacks. Hundreds of farmers were forced to give up on their livelihoods, and thousands suffered as a result. Since 2003, cut-flower production has been limited to 700 dunams of greenhouses found in the south of the Gaza Strip...since 2003, farmers have faced increasing problems with importing goods needed for flower production and, even more problematically, with exporting their flowers through the Crossings. Yields have thus substantially decreased, and, worst of all, farmers have been powerless but to watch their products rot in storage containers while crossings have remained closed." | Al-Mezan | 2007 | https://www.mezan.org/uploads/files/2565.pdf | June 1, 2026 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
23 | 2007–2022 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
24 | Key crops: tomatoes, eggplant, cucumbers | "Beginning in the late 1990s, Gaza witnessed a shift toward intensive agriculture, characterized by widespread greenhouse cultivation...key greenhouse crops included fruit and leafy vegetables, notably tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, eggplants, and melons." | Mercy Corps | 2026 | https://www.mercycorps.org/sites/default/files/2026-04/thematic-report-agricultural-rehabilitation.pdf | June 1, 2026 | |||||||||||||||||||||
25 | % of workforce in agriculture: <5% (2016) | "The latest Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) reports indicate that in the third quarter of 2016, only 4.5% of total workers in the Gaza Strip work in agriculture and fishing." | Palestine Trade Center | 2017 | https://paltrade.org/uploads/15951034871868344640.pdf | June 1, 2026 | |||||||||||||||||||||
26 | Intensive greenhouse cultivation allowed Palestinian farmers to produce a surplus of vegetables. | "Despite long-standing Israeli restrictions on access to arable land and inputs, Gaza was able to achieve a notable level of self-sufficiency in the production of fresh vegetables. Prior to the start of the war, the territory not only met its own domestic needs but also produced a surplus." | Mercy Corps | 2026 | https://www.mercycorps.org/sites/default/files/2026-04/thematic-report-agricultural-rehabilitation.pdf | June 1, 2026 | |||||||||||||||||||||
27 | ...Israel imposing a “no grow” zone encompassing 30-55% of Gaza’s arable land. | "By the time of the 2012 ceasefire, the buffer zone encompassed approximately 14 percent of Gaza’s total territory, but 30 to 55 percent of Gaza’s arable land. Restrictions on this zone resulted in the annual loss of an estimated 75,000 metric tons of agricultural produce, equating to approximately $50 million in foregone value each year." | Mercy Corps | 2026 | https://www.mercycorps.org/sites/default/files/2026-04/thematic-report-agricultural-rehabilitation.pdf | June 1, 2026 | |||||||||||||||||||||
28 | "Israel prevented residents from planting certain kind of crops and establishing structures in the areas, and even destroyed and demolished such crops or structures itself. For example, as Gisha exposed, Israel routinely conducted aerial spraying of herbicides during harvest season in spring and autumn near the perimeter fence, with the stated objective of keeping a sight line into Gaza by destroying plant growth and exposing the land. Also, military bulldozers repeatedly invaded these areas, destroying farmlands." | Gisha | 2021 | https://gisha.org/en/the-war-on-food-production-the-agricultural-sector/ | June 1, 2026 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
29 | According to data from Al Mezan Center for Human Rights in Gaza, between 2020 and 2022, approximately 2,084 cases where the Israeli military fired at farmers and shepherds were recorded near the fence, in which at least 19 Palestinians were killed and 159 were injured. | Al-Mezan cited by Gisha | 2021 | https://gisha.org/en/the-war-on-food-production-the-agricultural-sector/ | June 1, 2026 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
30 | Six Israeli military assaults repeatedly devastated agricultural livelihoods. | "The repeated wars waged on Gaza, along with restrictions on rebuilding and rehabilitation, have also been among the most damaging for the agricultural sector. The 2008-2009 war, the first in Gaza’s modern history, caused $268 million of damage to the sector and was characterized by the leveling or destroying of a “major portion” of the territory’s agricultural assets. Before the present war, the 2014 conflict was the most destructive, causing approximately $449 million of direct and indirect losses to the agriculture sector. Gaza has also been denied the opportunity to rebuild in the wake of these destructive conflicts as a result of the decades-long blockade, the most oppressive element of which is Tel Aviv’s maintenance of a “dual-use” list under which any items assessed to have a military application can be barred from entry. Fertilizers, chemicals, heavy machinery, and crucial inputs to operate the necessary water and electricity networks have all been prohibited under this policy." | Mercy Corps | 2026 | https://www.mercycorps.org/sites/default/files/2026-04/thematic-report-agricultural-rehabilitation.pdf | June 1, 2026 | |||||||||||||||||||||
31 | 2023–2025 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
32 | Israeli genocide engineered the ecological collapse of Gaza. | "Since October 2023, Gaza’s environment has suffered nearly unimaginable devastation. Israel’s assault on farmland, water systems, and infrastructure is precipitating famine, environmental collapse, and displacement—acts that resonate deeply with the legal and moral dimensions of ecocide." | Qumsiyeh, Mazin in the Ecologist | 2025 | https://theecologist.org/2025/sep/02/ecocide-and-resistance-palestine | June 1, 2026 | |||||||||||||||||||||
33 | 96% of cropland damaged/inaccessible | "Following the entry into force of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, 36.8 percent (5 542 ha) of cropland is accessible, but only 4.0 percent (601 ha) is both not damaged and accessible." | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations | 2025 | https://openknowledge.fao.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/0e6f2d97-a41d-473b-8997-201b96ca2135/content | June 1, 2026 | |||||||||||||||||||||
34 | 1/3 of cropland used as camps for displaced people | "Almost one-third of pre-war cropland, has been transformed into built-up areas, primarily camps and related sites for the displaced." | Mercy Corps | 2026 | https://www.mercycorps.org/sites/default/files/2026-04/thematic-report-agricultural-rehabilitation.pdf | June 1, 2026 | |||||||||||||||||||||
35 | 98% of fruiting trees destroyed | Remote sensing analysis concluded that, by the end of October 2025, 98% of Gaza’s tree cropland had been destroyed. "'This is unprecedented damage,' said He Yin, a geographer and remote sensing researcher at Kent State University in Ohio and lead researcher on the project. 'I have never seen anything like this,' said Yin, who previously studied other areas of armed conflict, including Syria and the northern Caucasus. Gaza, he said, has 'become like a barren land.'" | AGU - Advancing Earth and Space Sciences in Eos | 2025 | https://eos.org/articles/98-of-gazas-tree-cropland-destroyed-during-more-than-two-years-of-conflict | June 1, 2026 | |||||||||||||||||||||
36 | 97% of livestock killed | "Israel has destroyed nearly all animal wealth in the Gaza Strip, approximately 97 per cent, through bombing and systematic starvation, including working animals that served as the last means of transport amid fuel shortages and limited public mobility." | Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor | 2025 | https://euromedmonitor.org/en/article/6811/97-per-cent-of-Gaza%E2%80%99s-animal-wealth-destroyed-by-Israeli-bombing,-starvation,-and-looting | June 1, 2026 | |||||||||||||||||||||
37 | Water and soil contaminated | "Explosive residues are estimated to have deposited thousands of tons of heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, copper and aluminum into the soil, with concentrations likely exceeding World Health Organization (WHO) safety thresholds for agriculture. These contaminants not only render large areas unfit for cultivation but also pose a high risk of entering the food chain through bioaccumulation in crops, particularly vegetables. In addition, the extreme heat from detonations, in some cases reaching temperatures above 2,000°C, has incinerated organic matter and destroyed vital soil microbiota, impairing nutrient cycling and fertility.F urthermore, damage to sewage and wastewater infrastructure has led to widespread discharge of untreated sewage into urban and agricultural areas, contaminating soil and water sources with harmful pathogens and pollutants. Gaza’s highly permeable sandy soils facilitate the rapid infiltration of these pollutants into its groundwater, a situation further exacerbated by the overcapacity of existing landfills and the proliferation of unregulated waste disposal sites." | Mercy Corps | 2026 | https://www.mercycorps.org/sites/default/files/2026-04/thematic-report-agricultural-rehabilitation.pdf | June 1, 2026 | |||||||||||||||||||||
38 | It will take decades to rehabilitate Gaza’s environment and food system even under optimal conditions, but Israel is blocking supplies, equipment, and environmental assessments needed to begin recovery. | "The expectation that a suffocating blockade will remain in place even in a post-ceasefire context is also one of the biggest barriers to rehabilitating the sector...with Israel going as far as prohibiting the import of high-yield seeds from seed banks in the West Bank, which are crucial to resuming planting. Israel has also restricted the import of fertilizers, plastic sheets, and other infrastructure necessary to construct or rehabilitate basic infrastructure, such as greenhouses...Heavy machinery, sophisticated mechanical parts, and regular and widespread provision of key inputs are necessary if the sector will have any prospect of genuine recovery. However, many of these items, including fertilizers, tractors, tilling equipment, and rubbleremoval machinery, are classified by Israeli authorities as “dual-use” goods, meaning they have both been prohibited during the war and are likely to remain barred or heavily restricted in a postceasefire reality. The rehabilitation of laboratories capable of conducting the sophisticated studies on the health of land, water, and other fundamentals of agriculture with also require access to specialized equipment and parts. In January 2025, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimated that $74.5 million would be required to meet immediate agricultural needs alone, warning that the full reconstruction of the sector could take 'years, if not decades.'" | Mercy Corps | 2026 | https://www.mercycorps.org/sites/default/files/2026-04/thematic-report-agricultural-rehabilitation.pdf | June 1, 2026 | |||||||||||||||||||||
39 | 7+ years to clear rubble/unexploded ordnance and till compressed soil | 7 years is a best case scenario that on "unimpeded access to priority locations, permits for heavy machinery and specialized equipment, consistent fuel entry, and above all, a stable operating environment." "Preliminary UN assessments in September 2024 indicated that it could take up to 20 years to remove and repurpose all of the debris with a cost of up to US$909 million." | United Nations Development Program | 2025 | https://www.undp.org/stories/clearing-most-rubble-gaza-strip-possible-seven-years-under-right-conditions | June 1, 2026 | |||||||||||||||||||||
40 | "Israel’s bulldozing and the deployment of heavy military machinery across Gaza have resulted in intense soil compaction, which has substantially reduced the permeability and aeration and impeded water infiltration and root penetration. It has also resulted in the degradation of the topsoil layer, the high organic matter content and microbial activity of which is essential to nutrient cycling and soil fertility. As a result, the affected land has become largely unfit for cultivation, necessitating extensive rehabilitation to restore its use for agriculture. However, the import of essential machinery for re-tilling and leveling the soil is unlikely to be permitted by Israeli authorities, even in a ceasefire context, obstructing the vital revival efforts needed to restore soil health and productivity." | United Nations Development Program | 2025 | https://www.undp.org/stories/clearing-most-rubble-gaza-strip-possible-seven-years-under-right-conditions | June 1, 2026 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
41 | 5+ years soil will be unproductive due to microbiome destruction | "Explosive detonations, which can generate temperatures exceeding 2,000°C, have incinerated organic matter and destroyed critical soil microorganisms. This microbiological disruption has severely impaired nutrient cycling and soil fertility, conditions essential for sustainable crop production. The loss of beneficial microbes and organic substrates could render the soil unproductive for at least five years, even under optimal rehabilitation efforts, which are unlikely to materialize in Gaza’s post-war reality." | Mercy Corps | 2026 | https://www.mercycorps.org/sites/default/files/2026-04/thematic-report-agricultural-rehabilitation.pdf | June 1, 2026 | |||||||||||||||||||||
42 | 15+ years for replanted fruit trees to reach maturity | "The restoration of tree-crop agriculture in Gaza also faces profound long-term challenges that render recovery nearly impossible in the short term. Tree crops such as olives and citrus not only require five to seven years to become productive and up to fifteen years to reach full maturity, but are also considered 'highly vulnerable' to the impacts of climate change given their high water demand, further inhibiting prospects for rehabilitation." | Mercy Corps | 2026 | https://www.mercycorps.org/sites/default/files/2026-04/thematic-report-agricultural-rehabilitation.pdf | June 1, 2026 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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