Geospatial information for sustainable food systems

Damage to agricultural wells due to the conflict in the Gaza Strip as of 20 May 2024

Year published: 12/06/2024

Utilising a baseline agricultural well layer and very high-resolution satellite imagery, FAO conducted an assessment of the number of agricultural wells damaged in the Gaza Strip as a result of the recent conflict escalation. The damage was estimated using Sentinel-1 SAR imagery from 4, 5, 16, 17, 28, 29 January, 9, 10, 21, 22 February, 4, 5, 16, 28, 29 March, 9, 10, 21, 22 April and 3, 4, 15,16 May. The number of damaged agricultural wells was calculated based on their location within a 15-meter radius area around a damaged site. A thorough evaluation of damage to agricultural wells was performed, overlaying the agricultural well layer with the damage layer (damage proxy map) from 20 May 2024. The grid depicts the severity of damage in localised areas; in each tile the number of damaged agricultural wells was divided by the total number of agricultural wells.