The ongoing war in the Gaza Strip has obliterated crops and trees, according to a new assessment of the impact.
Amid fighting that has killed more than 50,000 people, including more than 16,000 children, the Israeli campaign has also devastated farmland in Gaza, says He Yin, a geographer at Kent State University.
For a recent study, Yin tracked the loss of vegetation in Gaza by evaluating satellite images through September 2024. The research showed widespread destruction of croplands and orchards.
In an update to that study, Yin tabulated the losses through the end of May and shared his findings with Yale Environment 360. The latest accounting shows damage to 71 to 98 percent of annual crops and 90 to 94 percent of tree crops.
As most farms in Gaza span less than two acres, Yin told Yale E360 earlier this year, “the loss of a single tree can be devastating.”
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