ISTANBUL

Two years into Israeli genocide, almost all farmland in the Gaza Strip has been destroyed or is inaccessible, leaving families without income and driving food prices to unprecedented levels, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said Friday.

“Almost all of Gaza’s farmland is destroyed or inaccessible,” the agency said on the US social media X. “A kilo of tomatoes that once cost 60¢ now costs $15 - if found at all.”

The organization said families who once relied on agriculture “now have no income” and that even as some food reappears in markets, “people cannot afford” to buy it.

“Until Gaza’s agricultural sector can be rebuilt, there must be an unrestricted flow of aid,” UNRWA said.

The Gaza Government Media Office said in a Thursday statement that a total of 653 aid trucks were allowed into the territory since the ceasefire deal took effect on Oct. 10.

The first phase of the ceasefire deal came into force under a plan proposed by US President Donald Trump to end Israel’s war and rebuild the Palestinian territory.

Under the agreement, 600 humanitarian aid trucks are supposed to enter Gaza daily, including those carrying fuel and cooking gas.

Since October 2023, Israeli attacks have killed nearly 68,000 Palestinians in Gaza, most of them women and children, and rendered it largely uninhabitable.