The Guardian: Israel’s message to the people of Gaza: You won’t be able to live here

Israel’s ecocide in Gaza sends this message: Even if we stop dropping bombs, you won’t be able to live here, writes George Monbiot in The Guardian.

Israel is destroying agricultural land alongside genocide in an effort to eradicate all life in Gaza. Israel’s motto is evident in this equation: a people without a land, a land without a people. There are two ways to achieve this motto: the first is the mass killing and displacement of Palestinians, and the second is rendering the land uninhabitable, alongside the crime of genocide. Another atrocity is also unfolding: ecocide.

While the destruction of buildings and infrastructure in Gaza is evident in every video we watch, what is less obvious is the parallel devastation of ecosystems and livelihoods. Before the October 7 massacre that sparked the current assault on Gaza, approximately 40% of its land was cultivated. Despite its massive population density, Gaza was largely self-sufficient in vegetables and poultry, and met most of the population’s needs for olives, fruits, and milk.

But last month, the United Nations reported that only 1.5% of its agricultural land remains accessible and undamaged. That’s about 200 hectares—the only remaining area directly available to feed more than two million people.