GAZA, August 19. /Dunyo IA/. Amid the ongoing fighting, only 3% of agricultural land in the Gaza Strip remains accessible and suitable for cultivation, reports Dunyo IA correspondent, citing UN News.

According to an analysis of satellite imagery conducted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) together with UNOSAT, 448 hectares of agricultural land remain usable, or about 3% of the total. In October 2025, 601 hectares were still considered usable.

FAO attributes the decline in accessible farmland primarily to restrictions on access rather than new damage. In June 2026, access remained possible to just over 4,000 hectares, or 27% of Gaza’s agricultural land, but about 3,600 hectares of that area were already unsuitable for cultivation. The sharpest decline in accessible farmland was recorded in Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis following the westward shift of the so-called Yellow Line.

The situation is particularly severe in Rafah, where 97.2% of farmland and 98.4% of greenhouses remain inaccessible. At the same time, according to FAO, the most extensive physical destruction remains concentrated in northern Gaza and Gaza Governorate.

The scale of destruction has affected almost the entire territory of the Strip. According to a UNOSAT assessment published in October 2025, about 81% of all structures in Gaza had been damaged, including more than 123,000 that were completely destroyed. In April 2026, a joint assessment by the UN, World Bank and European Union found that more than 371,800 housing units had been destroyed or damaged, while more than 60% of the population had lost their homes.

According to Gaza health authorities, the death toll had exceeded 73,000 by early July. Farmers are also facing shortages of water, seeds, fertilizers and equipment. FAO warns that without restoring safe access to farmland and providing support to farmers, Gaza’s ability to produce its own food will continue to decline.

Photo credit: UN News