The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics stated today, Sunday, that the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip damaged and destroyed about one-fifth of the agricultural lands in the Strip until December 13, 2023.

The bureau indicated in a report issued by it, on the impact of the Israeli occupation aggression on the agricultural sector in the Gaza Strip for the year 2023, that relying on the 2021 agricultural census which shows the planted agricultural areas and the composition of the agricultural sector in the Gaza Strip, combined with satellite images showing the third assessment of agricultural damages in the Gaza Strip conducted by "UNOSAT", with an update of the damages based on the effects highlighted by this map on the agricultural areas, the update shows the changes monitored via satellite in the agricultural areas in the Gaza Strip due to the deterioration of the agricultural sector and the impact on the health and density of crops because of the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip.

The bureau said: "The health and density of agricultural crops during December 2023 compared to the six previous seasons from 2017 to 2022 have experienced a significant decline."

It should be noted that the analysis took into account the damages to active temporary crop fields and barren lands, in addition to home gardens, and the analysis does not include permanent crop lands and forests, as well as protected agriculture and animal production. This decline is attributed to the impact of land leveling activities and heavy vehicle operations in addition to the ongoing shelling.

The data indicated damage to 18% of the agricultural areas in the Strip, with the direct and greatest damage in the North Gaza governorates, where the damage reached 39% of the agricultural areas in North Gaza Governorate and 27% in Gaza Governorate.

The 2021 agricultural census data indicated that 32% of the planted areas in the Gaza Strip are in Khan Younis Governorate, and 29% in North Gaza Governorate.