Khan Younis: Gaza's Breadbasket Turns into Wasteland
Since the start of Israel's ongoing military assault in late 2023, Khan Younis has been reduced to rubble. Fertile lands have become craters, greenhouses lie in twisted heaps of metal, and the farmers who once cultivated the land now live as displaced refugees.
The city has been all but erased from Gaza's agricultural map, a devastating blow to the Strip's already fragile food security.
According to data from the United Nations and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) as of July 2025, over 61.5% of Khan Younis's farmland has been either destroyed or rendered unusable.
For Khalil Abu Hamed, a farmer from New Abasan, the loss is deeply personal. 'I used to grow tomatoes, eggplants, and zucchini on five dunams,' he told Palestine Newspaper.
'It was my only source of income. Now I'm living in a tent with my family in the Mawasi area. My house is gone. My land is gone. The Israelis destroyed everything, I couldn't even save my irrigation system or farming tools.'
Abu Salim Al-Najjar, another farmer, lost his poultry farm, one of the largest in the Mawasi region.
'More than 15,000 birds died in just two weeks,' he said. 'The bombing destroyed the shelters. We ran out of feed and water. We used to supply half of Gaza's poultry. Now I don't even have a place to live.'
Their stories reflect a far grimmer and more widespread reality of the current war. According to the FAO, more than 80% of Gaza's farmland has suffered direct damage.
Over 71% of greenhouses have been destroyed, and nearly 83% of irrigation wells are no longer operational. In Khan Younis alone, approximately 2,600 hectares of cultivated land have been obliterated. Access to what remains is nearly impossible, blocked by military zones, rubble, or the threat of attack.
Agricultural and environmental expert Nizar Al-Wahidi says Khan Younis is no longer Gaza's agricultural heartland, but a 'critical weak point' in the food security system.
'The eastern part of the governorate, where most open fields and greenhouses were located, has been systematically bulldozed,' Al-Wahidi told Palestine Newspaper.
'The western part has been paralyzed by mass displacement. Even the Mawasi area, once the largest poultry hub in Gaza, has been devastated, causing a dangerous shortage of animal protein.'
The impact of this destruction, Al-Wahidi warns, will be felt for months, if not years. 'Gaza's agricultural sector is on the brink of total collapse,' he said. 'Without immediate recovery efforts, the consequences will be catastrophic.'
The numbers back up his warning. According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), 93% of Gaza's population is currently facing some level of food insecurity. Of those, 44% are classified as being in an 'emergency' state, while 12% are in outright 'catastrophe.'
These levels are directly linked to the destruction of Gaza's food production and the collapse of supply chains, the result of sustained Israeli military actions.
Shortlink for this post: https://daysofpalestine.ps/?p=65519
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Days of Palestine
19-07-2025
- Days of Palestine
One in Three Gazans Go Days Without Food, Warns UN Official
DaysofPal – Senior UN officials have expressed concern about the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, stating that the amount of hunger and suffering there is unprecedented. Speaking to reporters at UN headquarters following a recent visit to Gaza, Carl Skau, Deputy Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), described the situation as 'worse than I have ever seen before,' both in terms of need and the near-total collapse of humanitarian access. 'The entire population is food insecure,' Skau said, citing recent data from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification. 'Half a million people are facing extreme hunger, and the situation has only worsened since that report was published.' He added that 90,000 children in Gaza now urgently need treatment for malnutrition. 'One in three people are going entire days without eating,' Skau said. 'Mothers told me they try to stop their children from playing, just to save the little energy their bodies can manage on the few spoonfuls of food they get.' Many families, he said, survive on nothing more than hot water with lentils or scraps of pasta. Children Starve While Aid Waits at the Border Skau emphasized that humanitarian agencies, including the WFP, are ready and able to deliver life-saving aid but are being obstructed by severe access restrictions. 'We have enough food stockpiled at the border to feed everyone in Gaza for two months,' he said. 'But we can't get it in.' 'For a time, after some easing of the blockade, we were able to bring in 20 to 30 trucks a day, which is nowhere near enough. When I visited, a kilo of wheat flour was selling for over $25. These are prices no one can afford.' He noted that, for the first time in days, a small aid delivery was allowed through the Zikim crossing into northern Gaza. 'But we need all routes open, from Jordan, Egypt, and Israel, and we need safety guarantees for aid workers and civilians alike.' Skau's testimony was echoed by Tom Fletcher, the UN's Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, who painted a stark picture of the horrors unfolding inside the besieged territory. 'People in Gaza are facing death, injury, displacement, and the stripping away of their dignity,' Fletcher said. 'We are seeing civilians killed while waiting in line for food. That is not a debate; that is a war crime.' Fletcher underscored Israel's obligations as the occupying power under international law: 'Israel must ensure access to food and medicine for the population. That is not a choice; it's a legal duty. But that's simply not happening.' The Collapse of Normal Life The situation, both officials said, defies description. 'We're running out of words,' Fletcher admitted. 'Food is vanishing. People who ask for it risk being shot. Field hospitals are receiving the dead while hearing the same stories from the wounded every day. Parents are watching their children die not from bombs, but from starvation.' Both Skau and Fletcher stressed the urgency of a ceasefire, not just to stop the killing, but to allow humanitarian lifelines into Gaza before even more lives are lost to preventable hunger. 'We have enough food at the border to feed the entire population for about two months,' Skau said. 'But it is clear that we need a ceasefire.' He emphasized the need to open all roads from Jordan, Egypt, and Israel and to ensure security conditions that allow aid delivery to reach those most in need. 'We want to be able to deliver in the north,' he added, referring to the newly reopened Zikim crossing, 'because we believe that is the only way to help reduce levels of despair and prices.' Shortlink for this post:
Days of Palestine
07-07-2025
- Days of Palestine
Khan Younis: Gaza's Breadbasket Turns into Wasteland
DayofPal– Farming in Khan Younis was never just a profession; it was a way of life. For generations, this southern Gaza city was known as the 'breadbasket' of the Strip, feeding its people with fresh vegetables, fruits, and poultry. But today, that legacy lies in ruins. Since the start of Israel's ongoing military assault in late 2023, Khan Younis has been reduced to rubble. Fertile lands have become craters, greenhouses lie in twisted heaps of metal, and the farmers who once cultivated the land now live as displaced refugees. The city has been all but erased from Gaza's agricultural map, a devastating blow to the Strip's already fragile food security. According to data from the United Nations and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) as of July 2025, over 61.5% of Khan Younis's farmland has been either destroyed or rendered unusable. For Khalil Abu Hamed, a farmer from New Abasan, the loss is deeply personal. 'I used to grow tomatoes, eggplants, and zucchini on five dunams,' he told Palestine Newspaper. 'It was my only source of income. Now I'm living in a tent with my family in the Mawasi area. My house is gone. My land is gone. The Israelis destroyed everything, I couldn't even save my irrigation system or farming tools.' Abu Salim Al-Najjar, another farmer, lost his poultry farm, one of the largest in the Mawasi region. 'More than 15,000 birds died in just two weeks,' he said. 'The bombing destroyed the shelters. We ran out of feed and water. We used to supply half of Gaza's poultry. Now I don't even have a place to live.' Their stories reflect a far grimmer and more widespread reality of the current war. According to the FAO, more than 80% of Gaza's farmland has suffered direct damage. Over 71% of greenhouses have been destroyed, and nearly 83% of irrigation wells are no longer operational. In Khan Younis alone, approximately 2,600 hectares of cultivated land have been obliterated. Access to what remains is nearly impossible, blocked by military zones, rubble, or the threat of attack. Agricultural and environmental expert Nizar Al-Wahidi says Khan Younis is no longer Gaza's agricultural heartland, but a 'critical weak point' in the food security system. 'The eastern part of the governorate, where most open fields and greenhouses were located, has been systematically bulldozed,' Al-Wahidi told Palestine Newspaper. 'The western part has been paralyzed by mass displacement. Even the Mawasi area, once the largest poultry hub in Gaza, has been devastated, causing a dangerous shortage of animal protein.' The impact of this destruction, Al-Wahidi warns, will be felt for months, if not years. 'Gaza's agricultural sector is on the brink of total collapse,' he said. 'Without immediate recovery efforts, the consequences will be catastrophic.' The numbers back up his warning. According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), 93% of Gaza's population is currently facing some level of food insecurity. Of those, 44% are classified as being in an 'emergency' state, while 12% are in outright 'catastrophe.' These levels are directly linked to the destruction of Gaza's food production and the collapse of supply chains, the result of sustained Israeli military actions. Shortlink for this post:
Days of Palestine
04-06-2025
- Days of Palestine
Israeli strike on Khan Younis kills 18 displaced; Gaza death toll rises to 26 since dawn
DaysofPal- The death toll in Gaza continues to climb rapidly following a night of intense Israeli airstrikes and drone attacks across the besieged territory, with reports of at least 26 Palestinians killed since dawn on Wednesday, according to medical sources. The most devastating attack occurred overnight in Khan Younis, where an Israeli airstrike targeted a school sheltering displaced families. At least 18 people were killed in the strike, many of them newly displaced from eastern Khan Younis. The bombing underscores the ongoing collapse of any sense of 'safe zones,' as areas designated for shelter continue to come under fire. Other deadly incidents were reported across northern Gaza, including Jabalia and Gaza City. In southwest Gaza City, a man and his children were killed by an Israeli drone strike as they left the house where they were taking refuge in. Another drone attack in Jabalia killed two more civilians. An Israeli airstrike on a tent housing displaced people in the port area of Gaza killed at least seven people and injured a number more. The victims were transferred to Al-Shifa Hospital, which remains overwhelmed with casualties and critically short on medical supplies. Further south, another displaced person was killed and others injured when a drone targeted a tent west of Khan Younis. Simultaneously, Israeli warplanes, supported by artillery shelling, struck the towns of Bani Suhaila and Abasan al-Kabira, both east of Khan Younis. An Israeli airstrike on a tent settlement for displaced people in Gaza City's Al-Rimal neighborhood, where thousands of people had sought refuge after fleeing violence in northern Gaza, killed eight more people and injured several more on Tuesday. Adding to the chaos, Israeli forces reportedly opened fire on civilians near the Nablus roundabout, west of Gaza City, injuring an unspecified number of Palestinians. Despite mounting international condemnation, including over attacks in the vicinity of designated 'aid areas,' the Israeli military has reportedly imposed temporary restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid. In the past 24 hours, 40 people have been killed, including one who was recovered, and 208 injured have arrived at hospitals in the Gaza Strip, according to the Ministry of Health's daily report. Yesterday's death toll increased to 85. The death toll and number of injuries since March 18, 2025, have reached 4,240 dead and 12,860 injured. The Ministry of Health in Gaza confirmed that a large number of victims remain under the rubble and on the streets, inaccessible to ambulance crews and civil defense teams. The Israeli aggression has killed 54,510 people and injured 124,901 since October 7, 2023. Shortlink for this post:
