How the Israel-Gaza War has depleted Gaza's food infrastructure

Satellite imagery and videos shared on social media lay bare the scale of damage to croplands, fishing vessels, markets and the Port of Gaza, while analysis uncovers potential signs of siege tactics, aid disruption, and starvation as a means of warfare.

Warning: This article contains links to graphic imagery  

Food insecurity has reached “catastrophic levels” in Gaza, with an estimated 60,000 children expected to need treatment for acute malnutrition, according to the UN. In March 2025 Israel issued a suspension of goods entering Gaza – a move Israel said was aimed at pressuring Hamas in ceasefire talks. For a population dependent on aid, the consequences are devastating: Palestinian officials report closed bakeries and soaring food prices, while electricity cuts could deprive people of clean water.

The recent war has had severe impacts on Gaza’s agricultural sector. Before it broke out in October 2023, agriculture accounted for approximately 10% of Gaza’s economy and was relied on entirely or partially by an estimated 560,000 people. Now, at least 75% of crop fields and olive tree orchards have been damaged or destroyed, according to a geospatial assessment carried out by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the UN Satellite Centre (UNOSAT) between October and December 2024. 

To understand the scale of damage, CIR monitored satellite imagery and user-generated content (UGC) in North Gaza, an area that has witnessed a surge in violence and damage over the course of the current conflict. We focused on the area north of the Netzarim Corridor – which covers the Mefalsim Corridor, up to the Gaza Strip’s northern border with Israel – and the three cities of Jabalia, Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun. We also assessed damage to the Port of Gaza, located near the Rimal district of Gaza City. Satellite imagery reveals significant damage to food infrastructure, as well as widespread damage to croplands and fishing vessels. Our analysis also identified potential indications of starvation being used as a means of warfare, potential siege tactics, and aid disruption.

Below we provide a summary of our key findings and several case studies. 

Damage to food infrastructure

Since 7 October 2023, CIR monitored the locations of key food infrastructure in Jabalia, Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun, including water wells, water desalination plants, fuel stations, markets, and food stores. Analysis was carried out using UGC, Planet Labs satellite imagery, and UNOSAT data – a satellite-based comprehensive assessment of damage to structures in the Gaza Strip. 

Investigators assessed key food infrastructure locations at intervals, from the beginning of the current conflict (October 2023), to the start of the IDF’s ground incursion into North Gaza (October 2024), and satellite imagery from December 2024 and January 2025. By comparing imagery from these three points in time, CIR verified the destruction of several infrastructures that are vital for the civilian population’s survival in all three cities. This indicates that Israel could be using starvation as a means of warfare in the North Gaza Governorate, which is prohibited under International Humanitarian Law (IHL) rule 53.

CIR observed significant damage to the Jabalia Vegetable Market and surrounding areas, including impacts on homes, and food, road, and fuel infrastructure. Satellite imagery from 15 October 2023, 11 October 2024, and 13 December 2024 reveals the extent of damage sustained to the market. 

The visual below shows satellite imagery from 15 December 2024, overlaid with the locations of verified incidents, damaged buildings and damaged roads. CIR verified damage to a water well, fuel station, eight restaurants, and at least eight food stores, all within an approximate 800m radius of Jabalia Vegetable Market. As Jabalia Vegetable Market constitutes much of the Jabalia refugee camp’s food infrastructure, significant damage to the market could contribute to starvation in North Gaza. 

Damage to the Port of Gaza

Fishing is a key source of income for thousands of families in Gaza –  playing a pivotal role in both Palestinian culture and cuisine – but the war has had devastating impacts on the industry.  According to the FAO, Gaza’s average daily fish catch between October 2023 to April 2024 dropped to just 7.3% of 2022 levels, resulting in a $17.5 million production loss.

Satellite imagery shows significant damage to the Port of Gaza in Gaza City – as well as fishing vessels and fishing-related infrastructure –  in the initial weeks of the war, between October and November 2023. Planet SkySat satellite imagery shows what appear to be craters in at least five locations around the seawall of the Port of Gaza. The damage occurred between 8 October 2023 and 31 October 2023 and caused significant damage to the sea wall and boats in the bay and the port.  

CIR’s assessment of satellite imagery between 8 October and 11 November 2023 also identified significant damage to multiple structures in the port’s immediate vicinity. These include the Ministry of Agriculture Department of Fisheries, the Cooperative Society of Fishermen, the fish market and an ice factory. 

CIR was unable to identify UGC showing what may have caused damage to these structures. The exact date the damage was sustained could not be determined from the available satellite imagery. However, damage was initially visible in imagery from mid-October 2023, with further damage sustained between 31 October and  11 November 2023. 

Attribution is difficult to ascertain through open source analysis alone, but UGC sheds further light on the causes of the damage, showing what appears to be the targeting of fishing as a food source. 

Footage shared on 10 October 2023 shows a boat engulfed in flames emitting thick black smoke moored to the western side of the port. What sounds like an incoming munition can be heard moments before a noticeable impact in the bay is visible approximately 80 metres from the burning vessel, followed by the sound of an explosion (0:00-0:07).

Footage shared on 11 October 2023 shows what appears to be two artillery shells fired towards the port’s eastern side. Explosions are audible, and the smoke and ignition in the air are consistent with white phosphorus, a substance “used for military purposes in grenades and artillery shells to produce illumination, to generate a smokescreen and as an incendiary”, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). In a press release at the time, Human Rights Watch also verified footage showing aerial bursts of artillery-fired white phosphorus over the port on 11 October 2023. 

In footage shared on 5 November 2023, at least 18 boats appear damaged or destroyed on the shoreline at the Port of Gaza, with burnt fishing nets and a destroyed outboard motor also visible. Light smoke can be seen rising from the ground from at least four points (0:08). According to a February 2025 investigation by Forensic Architecture, satellite imagery indicates that “roughly 40% of all vessels docked at the port appeared to have been rendered non-operational within the first week of Israel’s aerial campaign”. The investigation finds that by 10 January 2024, all remaining vessels had been destroyed.

Crops and farmland damaged

Northern Gaza was previously known as a centre for agricultural production, but much of its agricultural land has been damaged during the current conflict. To assess the levels of damage and destruction to croplands in North Gaza, CIR collected and analysed satellite imagery of rural agricultural areas and combined this with data from UNOSAT.

CIR verified large areas of damaged farmland in Northern Gaza in imagery from October 2024, including tyre tracks from heavy vehicles, and newly constructed roads on land previously used for farming. CIR’s findings indicate a reduction in usable farmland in North Gaza, which could also be indicative of starvation as a means of warfare.

FAO Deputy Director-General, Beth Bechdol, said in October 2024 that damage to agricultural land “raises serious concerns about the potential for food production now and in the future, because food aid alone cannot meet the daily needs of Gaza’s people”. Bechdol adds that “damage to agricultural land compounds the imminent risk of famine in the whole Gaza Strip”. 

Located northeast of the Gaza Strip, the farmland surrounding the city of Beit Hanoun has sustained significant damage since the outbreak of the current conflict in October 2023. By analysing satellite imagery dating back to October 2021, CIR found that annual changes in farmland were minimal during the years leading up to 2024. CIR therefore assesses that the significant absence of visible farmland in Beit Hanoun in October 2024 was not due to natural climate factors, such as drought or excessive rainfall, but likely resulted from human interference. 

Visible tyre marks from heavy vehicles, and the construction of new roads on the farmland, as shown below, further suggest that the damage was not a result of natural causes. Damage assessments of Gaza’s agricultural infrastructure, carried out by FAO and UNOSAT, also reveal damage to cropland from heavy vehicle tracks, razing, and shelling, which supports CIR’s findings.

Possible siege tactics used in urban areas

Whilst there is no official definition of “siege” or “encirclement” under IHL, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) writes that sieges “can be described as a tactic to encircle an enemy’s armed forces, in order to prevent their movement or cut them off from support and supply channels”. According to ICRC, sieges “may only be directed exclusively against the enemy’s armed forces”, but “civilians are often trapped” when populated areas are besieged. 

To assess whether there were signs to indicate that Israel used siege tactics in North Gaza, CIR used Planet Labs satellite imagery to analyse changes to road infrastructure and determine whether Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops may have encircled cities or neighbourhoods in North Gaza. 

The destruction of existing transport infrastructure could indicate that residents who remain in the area have been cut off from humanitarian aid supplies or are unable to evacuate. Damage to roads could also contribute to the disruption of aid flows, as humanitarian vehicles could be prevented or hindered from reaching aid checkpoints and holding areas.

Within Beit Hanoun, CIR focused on Izbat Beit Hanoun, a rural village located in the city’s northwestern suburbs. Satellite imagery from 8 October 2023, 9 December 2024 and 3 January 2025 indicates that the town’s buildings, roads and infrastructure were significantly damaged in December 2024 and early January 2025.

The image below shows the same imagery from 3 January 2025, overlaid with the locations of verified incidents, damaged infrastructure and impacted road infrastructure.

As shown above, many of the roads surrounding Izbat Beit Hanoun have sustained damage, including the main highway to the north of the town, al-Awda Road. The damaged roads surrounding the town could indicate the use of siege tactics, aimed at preventing supplies from entering and individuals from leaving. 

CIR could not independently verify whether Izbat Beit Hanoun was subjected to a siege, but three incidents within the town were documented between December 2024 and January 2025, supporting the assessment of damage levels observed in the satellite imagery. These include the controlled targeting and destruction of residential buildings, including al-Nada Towers. Educational facilities, Balsam Hospital and the surrounding neighbourhood – home to many who rely on farming to make a living – have also been heavily impacted.

Obstruction of humanitarian aid

Since 14 November 2024, CIR has verified three incidents (IPIN2448, IPIN2213, IPIN2241) showing the obstruction of humanitarian aid in North Gaza, potentially in breach of IHL rule 55, “Access for Humanitarian Relief to Civilians in Need”. 

CIR verified footage shared on 14 November 2024 showing a pile of concrete rubble along the entire width of al-Rashid Coastal Road, a humanitarian aid route west of the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, which appears to have been intentionally laid to prevent vehicles from passing. The rubble was observed near a section of al-Rashid Coastal Road, approximately 1.8 km west of Nuseirat refugee camp, which although not in northern Gaza itself, has been used by UN convoys to deliver aid to North Gaza. 

Though CIR could not verify the specific date when the roadblock was laid, or by whom, investigators observed that it was not visible in footage recorded at the same location on 27 October 2024. As a result, investigators assessed that the roadblock was laid between 27 October and 14 November 2024. 

What next for Gaza’s agricultural sector?

Israeli authorities have previously denied a hunger crisis or the risk of famine in Gaza. The Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), a unit in Israel’s Ministry of Defence, posted on 13 March 2025 that Hamas takes and hides humanitarian aid, and gets the international community to publish “false narratives” that blame Israel for aid shortages. 

CIR’s findings – and the extensive analysis of other organisations –  indicate that as a result of the conflict, Gaza’s food infrastructure and agricultural sector have sustained serious damage. This worsens the already severe hunger crisis in Gaza and increases the imminent risk of famine. 

Rebuilding Gaza’s agricultural sector will be “extremely expensive” and could take decades, the FAO has warned. Damage to croplands and food infrastructure does not only harm the sector as a whole, but impacts the lives and food security of all Gazans.