ISRAEL'S WAR ON GAZA’S LAND:

ECOCIDE AS A WEAPON OF ERASURE

When we speak of warfare, we tend to think first of bombs, casualties, and displacement. But in Gaza today, a parallel and equally catastrophic war is being waged — not just on people, but on the land itself. What is unfolding is an act of ecocide — the intentional destruction of ecosystems — that, in this case, dovetails with accusations of genocide in its pursuit of rendering existence impossible.

Before the recent escalation, around 40% of Gaza’s land was used for agriculture, and despite immense pressures, the territory was largely self-reliant in vegetables, poultry, olives, fruit, and milk. However, now, just 1.5% of that agricultural land remains both accessible and undamaged, amounting to roughly 200 hectares, which has to serve the needs of more than 2 million people. The devastation has come through multiple channels: greenhouses and orchards have been razed, fields plowed under, and soil compacted by heavy machinery. Crops and farmland have reportedly been sprayed with chemical agents to prevent regrowth. Water and sewage systems have been destroyed, contaminating land, aquifers, and coastal waters. Some tunnels have been deliberately flooded with seawater, risking irreversible salinization of groundwater resources. Each square meter of Gaza carries an estimated 107 kg of rubble, much of it contaminated with asbestos, heavy metals, unexploded ordnance, and toxic debris. Credible reports also indicate the use of incendiary agents such as white phosphorus, which can poison soil and water for years to come.

This raises the critical question: is the destruction an unintended consequence of warfare, or a deliberate strategy? Many argue that the pattern and scale point to intent — an attempt at erasure, not only of people but of their ability to remain, resist, or return. Some analysts describe this as a form of “holocide,” the annihilation of both human presence and the life-supporting environment. Israeli military justifications often cite Hamas’s use of agricultural areas and civilian infrastructure as cover, but critics argue this rationale effectively permits the wholesale demolition of Gaza’s food base. The expansion of “buffer zones” along Gaza’s borders has also coincided with the destruction of agricultural tracts. This echoes long-standing practices such as the uprooting of olive trees, a crop that has historically accounted for around 14% of the Palestinian economy and serves as both a material and cultural anchor.

International law currently defines genocide as a crime under the Rome Statute, but ecocide — the mass destruction of ecosystems — has yet to be fully codified. Nevertheless, environmental destruction in war may still constitute war crimes under Article 8 of the Statute. Advocates for recognizing ecocide as a standalone international crime argue that such recognition would strengthen accountability, preventing states and militaries from erasing populations through ecological collapse. The Gaza case illustrates why this matters: here, ecocide and genocide converge. If the land cannot sustain life, the people cannot remain. The destruction of ecosystems becomes a method of forced displacement, starvation, and cultural erasure.

Addressing this crisis requires legal innovation and international pressure. Codifying ecocide as a crime, requiring environmental impact assessments in conflict zones, and imposing sanctions on states that weaponize environmental destruction would represent a start. Equally important will be long-term efforts to restore Gaza’s devastated ecosystems through decontamination, reforestation, and rehabilitation of water systems. The future of Gaza cannot be measured solely in ceasefires and negotiations; it must also account for soil, air, and water — the very foundations of life.

To see Gaza today is to see more than rubble and broken bodies. It is to see a landscape intentionally decimated: its soils crushed, its waters poisoned, its ecosystems made unviable. This is ecocide, conjoined with genocide, in its most extreme form. If we accept that warfare must obey certain limits, then destruction on this scale — aimed at the very basis of survival — must be recognized as among the gravest of crimes.

Israel’s ecocide in Gaza sends this message: even if we stopped dropping bombs, you couldn’t live here (The Guardian, 9-27-25)

Palestine Denounces Gaza Devastation as “Ecocide” (Stop Ecocide International, 5-27-25)

Ecocide: Israel’s Deliberate and Systematic Environmental Destruction in Gaza (Reliefweb, 10-30-24)