Gaza’s agricultural sector has been devastated, with a recent UN assessment revealing that only 4.6 per cent of the enclave’s arable land remains usable. The destruction of farmland, coupled with restrictions on the entry of aid lorries into the enclave, has pushed Gaza's entire population to the brink of famine.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation and the UN Satellite Centre (UNOSAT) report that more than 80 per cent of Gaza’s farmland has been damaged, and 77.8 per cent is inaccessible, leaving 688 hectares available for cultivation.
Israel’s military operations have severely impaired Gaza’s capacity for self-sustenance. Farms, orchards and greenhouses have been destroyed or rendered inaccessible, depriving Palestinians of food and livelihoods.
Before the current conflict began in October 2023, agriculture was important to Gaza’s economy and food security. Although Gaza was never fully self-sufficient, the sector contributed about 6 to 11 per cent of the GDP and employed a significant portion of the population.
Local farms supplied about 12 per cent of the average daily caloric intake per person, producing crops including citrus fruits, dates, olives and vegetables, according to a joint study by the Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the Centre for Humanitarian Health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
However, this lifeline has steadily been eroded. Remote sensing analyses by the UN Satellite Centre indicate a sharp decline in viable cropland: 8 per cent damaged by December 2023; 28 per cent by January 2024; 43 per cent by February 2024; and 57 per cent by May 2024.
Much of the remaining agricultural land has been bulldozed, bombed or lies in areas that farmers can no longer safely access. Geospatial imagery reveals the widespread degradation from above.
“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 Organisation.
International aid agencies have described the situation as a humanitarian catastrophe. The Famine Early Warning Systems Network and other hunger monitors warn that more than half a million people face catastrophic food insecurity.
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
The Limehouse Golem
Director: Juan Carlos Medina
Cast: Olivia Cooke, Bill Nighy, Douglas Booth
Three stars
Veil (Object Lessons)
Rafia Zakaria
Bloomsbury Academic
Company%20Profile
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Du Football Champions
The fourth season of du Football Champions was launched at Gitex on Wednesday alongside the Middle East’s first sports-tech scouting platform.“du Talents”, which enables aspiring footballers to upload their profiles and highlights reels and communicate directly with coaches, is designed to extend the reach of the programme, which has already attracted more than 21,500 players in its first three years.
$1,000 award for 1,000 days on madrasa portal
Daily cash awards of $1,000 dollars will sweeten the Madrasa e-learning project by tempting more pupils to an education portal to deepen their understanding of math and sciences.
School children are required to watch an educational video each day and answer a question related to it. They then enter into a raffle draw for the $1,000 prize.
“We are targeting everyone who wants to learn. This will be $1,000 for 1,000 days so there will be a winner every day for 1,000 days,” said Sara Al Nuaimi, project manager of the Madrasa e-learning platform that was launched on Tuesday by the Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, to reach Arab pupils from kindergarten to grade 12 with educational videos.
“The objective of the Madrasa is to become the number one reference for all Arab students in the world. The 5,000 videos we have online is just the beginning, we have big ambitions. Today in the Arab world there are 50 million students. We want to reach everyone who is willing to learn.”
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Lamsa
Founder: Badr Ward
Launched: 2014
Employees: 60
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: EdTech
Funding to date: $15 million
The five pillars of Islam
SERIES INFO
Cricket World Cup League Two
Nepal, Oman, United States tri-series
Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu
Fixtures
Wednesday February 5, Oman v Nepal
Thursday, February 6, Oman v United States
Saturday, February 8, United States v Nepal
Sunday, February 9, Oman v Nepal
Tuesday, February 11, Oman v United States
Wednesday, February 12, United States v Nepal
Table
The top three sides advance to the 2022 World Cup Qualifier.
The bottom four sides are relegated to the 2022 World Cup playoff
1 United States 8 6 2 0 0 12 0.412
2 Scotland 8 4 3 0 1 9 0.139
3 Namibia 7 4 3 0 0 8 0.008
4 Oman 6 4 2 0 0 8 -0.139
5 UAE 7 3 3 0 1 7 -0.004
6 Nepal 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
7 PNG 8 0 8 0 0 0 -0.458
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