Less Than 5% of Gaza’s Cropland Is Useable, UN Assessment Shows 

A view of destroyed buildings in Gaza, near the Israel-Gaza border, as seen from Israel, May 26, 2025. (Reuters)
A view of destroyed buildings in Gaza, near the Israel-Gaza border, as seen from Israel, May 26, 2025. (Reuters)
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Less Than 5% of Gaza’s Cropland Is Useable, UN Assessment Shows 

A view of destroyed buildings in Gaza, near the Israel-Gaza border, as seen from Israel, May 26, 2025. (Reuters)
A view of destroyed buildings in Gaza, near the Israel-Gaza border, as seen from Israel, May 26, 2025. (Reuters)

Less than 5% of Gaza's cropland can be cultivated due to damage and access restrictions, "exacerbating the risk of famine in the area", according to a UN assessment published on Monday.

"This level of destruction is not just a loss of infrastructure – it is a collapse of Gaza's agrifood system and of lifelines," said Beth Bechdol, Deputy Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization which produced the assessment alongside the UN Satellite Center.

Before the Israel-Hamas war began over 19 months ago, Gazan farmers cultivated a range of crops including citrus fruits, dates and olives, despite the area being among the most densely populated in the world.

Now, half a million people face starvation, according to a global hunger monitor, amid Israeli restrictions on food imports after an 11-week blockade.

In total, just 688 hectares, or 4.6% of the total, is available for cultivation, the UN assessment said.

It showed that more than 80% of Gaza's cropland had been damaged in the war. A total of 77.8% is not accessible, the statement said, based on a UN assessment of Israeli restricted sites and evacuation orders.

The report found that nearly three-quarters of greenhouses had been damaged in the war and over 80% of wells, according to the assessment based on high-resolution satellite imagery.

It described the situation as "particularly critical" in the southern area of Rafah and in the northern areas where nearly all cropland is inaccessible, the statement said.



Iraq's Kataib Hezbollah Warns US Against Intervening in Israel-Iran Conflict

 Protesters hold Iranian flags during a protest against Israeli attacks on multiple cities across Iran, at a bridge leading to the fortified Green Zone where the US embassy is located in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP)
Protesters hold Iranian flags during a protest against Israeli attacks on multiple cities across Iran, at a bridge leading to the fortified Green Zone where the US embassy is located in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP)
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Iraq's Kataib Hezbollah Warns US Against Intervening in Israel-Iran Conflict

 Protesters hold Iranian flags during a protest against Israeli attacks on multiple cities across Iran, at a bridge leading to the fortified Green Zone where the US embassy is located in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP)
Protesters hold Iranian flags during a protest against Israeli attacks on multiple cities across Iran, at a bridge leading to the fortified Green Zone where the US embassy is located in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP)

Iran-aligned Iraqi armed group Kataib Hezbollah warned on Sunday it would resume attacks on US troops in the region if the United States intervenes in the conflict between Israel and Iran.

"We are closely monitoring the movements of the American enemy's army in the region," Kataib Hezbollah Secretary-General Abu Hussein al-Hamidawi said in a statement. "If America intervenes in the war, we will act directly against its interests and bases spread across the region without hesitation."

Founded in the aftermath of the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, Kataib Hezbollah is one of the elite Iraqi armed factions closest to Iran. The group, a key pillar of Iran's network of regional proxy forces, has claimed responsibility for dozens of missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and US forces in both Iraq and Syria.

Early last year, Kataib Hezbollah announced the suspension of all its military operations against US troops in the region in response to efforts by the Iraqi government.

Kataib Hezbollah is part of a coalition of Iran-aligned groups known collectively as the "Axis of Resistance" — an umbrella of hardline Shiite armed factions that have claimed more than 150 attacks on US forces in Iraq and Syria since the onset of the Gaza war about 20 months ago.

Iraq, a rare ally of both Washington and Tehran, is striving to avoid upsetting its fragile stability while focusing on rebuilding after years of conflict.