4 days ago
Amid Devastation in Gaza, a Deepening Environmental Wound
The ongoing war in the Gaza Strip has obliterated trees, crops, and grasslands, according to a new assessment of the impact.
Amid fighting that has killed more than 50,000 people, including more than 16,000 children, the Israeli campaign has also devastated farmland in Gaza, says He Yin, a geographer at Kent State University.
For a recent study, Yin tracked the loss of vegetation in Gaza by evaluating satellite images through September 2024. The research showed massive destruction of orchards and croplands.
In an update to that study, Yin tabulated the losses through the end of May 2025, sharing his findings with Yale Environment 360. The latest accounting shows damage to 78 to 98 percent of fallow fields and grasslands; 71 to 98 percent of annual crops; and 90 to 94 percent of tree crops.
As most farms in Gaza span less than two acres, Yin told Yale E360 earlier this year, 'the loss of a single tree can be devastating.'
In Gaza War, the Environmental Devastation Runs Deep
