Gaza’s agricultural system has collapsed with 98.5% of cropland either damaged or off-limits, leaving only 232 hectares available for farming to feed over 2 million people as famine spreads across the territory, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) official announcement.
A new satellite assessment by FAO and UNOSAT shows available farmland has dropped from 688 hectares in April to just 232 hectares now – a catastrophic decline in a territory already facing the world’s worst hunger crisis. Over 500,000 people are experiencing famine-like conditions while more than one in three go days without food.
The destruction goes far beyond cropland as irrigation systems, storage facilities, markets, and farming equipment have been wiped out by relentless conflict. About 12.4% of undamaged cropland sits in “no go” zones that farmers can’t reach safely. This combination of destroyed infrastructure and inaccessible land has created catastrophic food security conditions across Gaza’s 2.3 million residents.
The latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification alert confirmed that famine is now unfolding in Gaza, with nearly a quarter of the population experiencing famine-like conditions. The rest face emergency levels of hunger while aid deliveries remain severely restricted.
“To prevent further suffering, we need to prioritize urgent humanitarian access and invest in restoring Gaza’s local agrifood production systems,” said FAO’s Rein Paulsen.
FAO, World Food Programme (WFP), and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) are calling for an immediate ceasefire to stop the killing and enable lifesaving humanitarian operations. They want sustained safe access for mass food deliveries through all available crossings plus protection for civilians and aid workers. Commercial supply chains need to restart to revive local markets that once fed Gaza’s population.
The agencies stress that recovery requires huge investments in local food systems including bakeries, markets, and agricultural rehabilitation – but only if the violence stops and humanitarian access becomes possible on the scale needed to prevent mass starvation.
