Agricultural production in Gaza has become increasingly perilous as the territory’s population of 2.1 million faces severe constraints on available farmland and resources. Farmers operate under constant threat, with severe shortages of water, fertilizer, and pesticide hampering their efforts. More than 80% of greenhouses have been destroyed, forcing cultivators to rely on inventiveness and determination to restore land and establish new crops.
Saqer Abu Rabee exemplifies the risks farmers face. His son Yousef, 24, was killed by a drone-fired missile in October 2024 while working on agricultural plots in Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza. Abu Rabee’s brother Bilal was killed on 2 July while retrieving agricultural supplies. Both deaths occurred during a partial ceasefire that began nine months prior, during which over 1,200 Palestinians have been killed. The Israeli Defense Forces say they have only responded to imminent threats from Hamas since the ceasefire, denying they target farmers or civilians.
Despite these dangers, Abu Rabee continues cultivating a 1.4-hectare plot, producing hundreds of thousands of seedlings distributed to other farmers and households. His efforts have significantly reduced local produce prices—aubergines now cost under two shekels per kilogram compared with 40 shekels months earlier. This agricultural activity has restored a degree of self-sufficiency to the region, which before the war was considered Gaza’s food basket due to its fertile soil and fresh groundwater.
According to satellite data, only about 450 hectares of Gaza’s prewar cropland remains undamaged and ready for cultivation, representing roughly 3% of the original 4,100 hectares. A human rights survey found that nearly 68% of the territory’s vegetation lies on the Israeli side of military demarcation lines, with another 5% in a buffer zone deemed too dangerous for Palestinians to access. Since the ceasefire began, Israeli military forces have advanced territorial control, seizing farmland that had been cultivated at significant cost to families.
While increased aid and commercial deliveries have improved conditions from last year’s famine, UN agencies report that 1.4 million people—67% of Gaza’s population—face crisis levels of acute food insecurity. The FAO has emphasized that lasting food security depends on resumed local production and farmers’ ability to rebuild their livelihoods.
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