UN data shows intensifying damage to agricultural in Gaza
More than 60 percent of Gaza’s cropland has been damaged by the continuing conflict, leaving 2 million people in urgent need of food, the latest UN data shows.
The satellite data collected by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations Satellite Centre (UNOSAT) showed extensive damage to agricultural production exacerbating the humanitarian and hunger crisis.
The data showed 52.5 percent of agricultural wells and 44.3 percent of greenhouses have been damaged.
The inability to access food also hit the poultry sector as Palestinians in Gaza struggled to feed their animals. UN data showed dramatic losses in the sector, with only 1 percent of heads remaining alive.
Israeli military dropped 2,000-pound bombs in "dangerous proximities" to nearly all hospitals in Gaza, study finds
The Israeli military dropped highly destructive 2,000-pound bombs in “dangerous proximities” to nearly all Gaza’s hospitals during the early weeks of its war in the enclave, according to a peer-reviewed study published Wednesday, which cites a CNN investigation.
Between October 7 and November 17, 2023, Israel deployed 2,000-pound bombs within the “lethal range” of 25% of all hospitals in Gaza, according to an analysis of impact craters by researchers at Harvard and other universities.
The analysis also found impact craters from the bombs within the “infrastructure damage and injury range” of more than 83% of hospitals – 30 out of 36 – in the strip.
The report, published in the journal PLOS Global Public Health, comes as Israel orders the evacuation of three hospitals in northern Gaza amid a renewed military operation in the area. The Gaza health ministry has called for all medical institutions to be protected.
The use of 2,000-pound bombs in such close proximity to hospitals in late 2023 was a “clear violation of international humanitarian law, with tools that the US is supplying,” Dennis Kunichoff, a data analyst at Harvard University and lead author of the study, told CNN.
“When they [the bombs] hit the ground, they release about 1,000 pounds of shrapnel … at incredible speed,” he said. “Essentially, the force and the shrapnel can kill people and damage concrete infrastructure from hundreds of meters away.”
Responding to a request for comment on the findings, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said “allegations that the IDF fires indiscriminately undermines the significant and unprecedented efforts made by the IDF to accurately strike military infrastructure, objectives, and operatives.” The IDF added that it follows international law and “does not target civilian objects and civilians.”
Israel’s offensive in Gaza has created enough rubble to fill New York’s Central Park up to 26 feet
Israel’s yearlong offensive in Gaza, launched in the wake of the Hamas-led October 7 attacks, has forced about 1.9 million Palestinians from their homes, decimated the strip’s health care system, damaged cultural sites, eviscerated academic institutions, and spawned a humanitarian crisis of hunger, displacement and disease.
Palestinians say they are barely surviving, let alone able to rebuild, under Israel’s bombardment and siege. Many of Israel’s strikes have hit civilian infrastructure. Israel has for years said Hamas fighters use mosques, hospitals and other civilian buildings to hide from Israeli attacks and launch their own. Hamas has repeatedly denied the claims.
CNN has spoken to people in Gaza’s five governorates – Northern Gaza, Gaza City, Deir al-Balah, Khan Younis and Rafah – whose lives and livelihoods have been turned to rubble, including doctors, shop owners, aid workers and educators.
As the Israeli military intensifies its war on multiple fronts in the region, people in Gaza fear the world’s focus has shifted from their plight.
“Gaza is not just a warzone. It is home to millions of people trying to live their lives, despite unimaginable circumstances,” Samer Abuzerr, a public health scientist and father-of-four displaced in central Gaza.
“We are more than victims of violence. We are doctors, teachers, students, parents – and we deserve the same dignity and humanity as anyone else. This war has not only shattered buildings, but also the very fabric of our society.”
See CNN’s data-led interactive reporting on the lives in Gaza reduced to rubble. 
