For over half a year, the food security system for the population of the Gaza Strip, which exceeds 2.3 million people, has collapsed. They are suffering from famine and malnutrition as the occupation tightens the blockade, preventing the flow of foodstuffs and destroying all agricultural and productive systems.
The destruction of the food security system for the people of Gaza has led to the spread of famine, claiming the lives of dozens of children and elderly people. International organizations have been unable to transport food, medicine, and water to those besieged in the Strip due to the deliberate policy of starvation carried out by the occupier against children and women.
Destruction of the Food Basket of the Strip
The President of the Arab Centre for Agricultural Development, Mohsen Abu Ramadan, confirms to 'Al-Mujtamaa' that the occupation has destroyed 95% of the food security system in the Gaza Strip during its ongoing aggression since October 7th, through comprehensive destruction of agricultural, livestock, and industrial sectors.
Abu Ramadan: Occupation Destroyed 95% of the Food Security System in Gaza
Abu Ramadan added that as a result, the sector will continue to suffer for many years, especially since the aggressive occupation has established what is known as the buffer zone, extending more than 1500 meters from Beit Lahia in the north to Rafah city in the south. These areas used to constitute the basket of vegetables and fruits for the Strip, and their rehabilitation will require many years.
He pointed out that the agricultural and animal sector accounted for over 80% of food security, especially in vegetables, meat, and fish. The deliberate destruction of these sectors plunged the people of Gaza into a real famine, especially in the northern part of the Strip, which constitutes over 60% of the agricultural and animal wealth.
He noted that all eastern areas from Beit Lahia in the north to Rafah in the south, spanning 64 kilometres and over two kilometres deep, were destroyed and excavated during the aggression. These areas are considered the main incubator for food security.
Abu Ramadan continued that the famine that has spread in the sector is mainly due to the occupation's destruction of these areas, where most of the components of the food security system for the people of Gaza were concentrated.
Ayyash: 70 thousand Families Lost Their Source of Income Due to the Occupation's Destruction of the Fishing System
He explained that the losses of the destroyed food security system are estimated in the tens of billions of dollars, while also affirming that the occupation deliberately destroyed the food system to keep Gaza suffering from hunger and food insecurity for many years.
Destruction of the Fishing Strip
On his part, the head of the Palestinian fishermen's union in Gaza, Nizar Ayyash, told 'Al-Mujtamaa' that the ruthless Zionist occupation destroyed the entire fishing system from Beit Lahia in the north to the shores of Rafah in the south. This was done by destroying fishermen's boats, burning them, and preventing them from fishing throughout the days of the continuous aggression since last October. This led to the loss of income for more than 70 thousand families and deprived the people of the sector of fish wealth.
He added that the occupation completely destroyed the Palestinian fishermen's port, which housed over a thousand fishing boats, indicating that the fishing sector collapsed completely due to the aggression and the deliberate destruction by the occupation.
Weaponizing Displacement
In a related context, the head of the International Committee for the Defence of Palestinian People's Rights, Salah Abdel-Ati, asserts that since the start of the ruthless aggression on the Gaza Strip, the Zionists have been using food, drink, and medicine as weapons to displace Palestinians. This is done by preventing the entry of food and medicine into the city of Gaza and the northern part of the Strip, and by establishing a list of types of food that may be allowed to enter at certain times.
Abdel-Aati: Zionists Use Food, Drink, and Medicine as Weapons to Displace Palestinians
Abdel-Aati confirmed to 'Al-Mujtamaa' that the Zionists have destroyed all food stores and shops in the Gaza Strip, with the aim of starving the residents to force them to migrate. He explained that even bakeries were not spared from Zionist bombardment, as the occupation destroyed 90% of the Strip's stores.
He pointed out that all types of food have run out from the shops, stating that the deaths of 87 children and elderly people due to starvation have been documented, as a result of the blockade and prevention of foodstuffs entry. He emphasized that Gaza is experiencing a collapse of food security due to the deliberate starvation policy of the Zionist occupation. He noted that the weaponization of starvation and the destruction of the food security system are no less dangerous than the bombing of innocent civilians since the start of the aggression, resulting in the martyrdom and injury of over 120,000 Palestinians, most of them children and women.
For the past 17 years, the Gaza Strip has been subjected to a cruel Zionist blockade that has exacerbated hunger and deprivation, especially among the one and a quarter million Palestinian refugees in the Strip, most of whom rely on humanitarian assistance provided to them by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
