PENANG, Malaysia – The official UN declaration of famine in Gaza amid the ongoing systematic destruction of Palestinian agricultural resources, including the recent uprooting of 3,000 olive trees in the West Bank village of al-Mughayyir, confirms how Israel has deliberately weaponized food and agriculture and violated international humanitarian law and fundamental human rights.
PAN Asia Pacific (PANAP) made the statement following the confirmation by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), the UN-backed global authority on food security, that famine is now occurring in the Gaza Governorate – marking the first officially recognized famine in West Asia.
“What Israel is doing in Gaza and the West Bank is an atrocious war crime against the Palestinian people that the international community should not allow to continue. We strongly condemn the Israeli regime and military forces for these brutal and inhumane acts of starving Palestinians to death – on top of the relentless bombings – that have victimized many innocent civilians, including helpless Palestinian children,” PANAP executive director Sarojeni Rengam said.
The Israeli army uprooted olive trees in the al-Mughayyer village near Ramallah in the West Bank on August 23. Since the launch of military offensives in Gaza in 2023, Israel has deliberately uprooted more than 2.3 million olive trees in Gaza and the West Bank, severely impacting the food security and livelihoods of Palestinian farmers. The UN officially declared famine in Gaza on August 22. (Video from the Palestinian Farmers Union)
The IPC reported that over half a million people in Gaza are facing catastrophic hunger conditions, with famine conditions projected to spread to Deir Al-Balah and Khan Younis by the end of September unless hostilities cease and aid access is fully restored. The Ministry of Health in Gaza has reported at least 271 famine-related deaths, including 112 children, though actual numbers are likely higher due to reporting gaps.
The Penang-based regional network stressed that the famine in Gaza is inextricably linked to the deliberate destruction of Palestinian agricultural systems and systematic denial of humanitarian aid, including food. In Gaza, 74% of cultivated olive areas have been destroyed, equivalent to approximately 2.29 million olive trees lost in the past three years. This destruction is not limited to Gaza; in the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces recently uprooted 3,000 olive trees in al-Mughayyir village near Ramallah, falsely claiming they posed a “security threat” to nearby settlements. More than 52,300 olive trees have been uprooted by Israeli forces in the West Bank since 2023, coinciding with its intensifying military offensive in Gaza.
“Olive trees are extremely important to Palestinian food security, livelihoods, and culture. Many rural families rely on their own olive harvest for household consumption, reducing dependence on purchased food. The olive sector supports up to 100,000 families in the West Bank and Gaza,” noted Rengam.
The blockade of humanitarian aid has also been particularly devastating, with Israeli military restrictions obstructing its distribution.
The PANAP official added, “These actions are part of a systematic pattern of denying Palestinians their right to food and land. The olive tree is not merely an economic resource but a cultural symbol deeply rooted in Palestinian heritage and identity.”
The famine and agricultural destruction are intentional strategies that Israel employs, violating with impunity International Humanitarian Law prohibiting starvation as a method of warfare, basic human rights principles that guarantee the right to food and freedom from hunger, and other UN conventions that protect the rights of peasants to livelihoods and cultural practices, according to PANAP.
“We urgently call for an immediate ceasefire and unrestricted humanitarian access in Gaza, the protection of agricultural resources, including olive trees and vital farming infrastructure, and full accountability for the use of starvation as a weapon of war. We further demand that states and corporations end all forms of complicity in Israel’s illegal occupation and settlement expansion. The time for decisive global action is now,” Rengam stressed. ###
Reference: Sarojeni Rengam, executive director (sarojeni.rengam@panap.net)
