Palestinian Territory – Israel has destroyed nearly all animal wealth in the Gaza Strip, approximately 97 per cent, through bombing and systematic starvation, including working animals that served as the last means of transport amid fuel shortages and limited public mobility.
The destruction of animal wealth coincides with the bulldozing of thousands of acres of farmland as part of a deliberate policy to starve the population, destroy food sources, and inflict severe physical and psychological suffering, all of which are fundamental components of the ongoing crime of genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Through the deliberate imposition of unsustainable living conditions leading to physical destruction, Israeli policies reflect a systematic and ongoing pattern of genocide. This is carried out through the destruction of food sources, livestock, and agricultural production, alongside widespread killings, an illegal blockade on the Gaza Strip, and the deliberate restriction of food supplies for nearly two years. These acts constitute a grave violation of international law and demonstrate a clear intent to destroy the Palestinian population as a protected group under the Genocide Convention.
More than 97 per cent of sheep and goats were destroyed, either through direct killing or death caused by genocidal conditions
Before Israel's genocide in the Gaza Strip in October 2023, the enclave had around 6,500 poultry farms that supplied about three million chickens to the local market each month. Now, 666 days later, over 93 per cent of these farms have been completely destroyed, and the few remaining have ceased operations entirely.
Euro-Med Monitor's field team documented the deaths of tens of thousands of birds, either due to direct bombing or the lack of feed and water, in one of the largest systematic assaults on white meat production.
According to data collected by the field team, the Gaza Strip had approximately 15,000 cows before the genocide. More than 97 per cent were killed, either by direct bombing or starvation, while a limited number were slaughtered for food in the early months due to the lack of alternatives.
Regarding livestock, including sheep and goats, estimates indicate that the Gaza Strip had around 60,000 sheep and 10,000 goats before the genocide. Current data shows that more than 97 per cent were destroyed, either through direct killing or death caused by genocidal conditions, as part of the systematic targeting of food sources and livelihoods.
Estimates prior to the genocide indicated that the Gaza Strip had approximately 20,000 donkeys, along with several horses and mules used as working animals. By August 2024, around 43 per cent of these animals had died, while more recent data shows that no more than 6 per cent remain, reflecting a near-total collapse of this vital sector.
Donkeys and mules have become the main mode of transport in the Gaza Strip, used to carry people, aid, the injured, and even corpses, amid the destruction of roads and vehicles and the complete breakdown of transportation due to fuel shortages. Despite growing reliance on them, most of these animals have died, while the rest are so exhausted by bombing, starvation, and severe fodder shortages that they can no longer move or perform any tasks.
Reports by Israeli Channel Kan 11 revealed that the Israeli army gathered hundreds of donkeys from across the Gaza Strip during military operations, transferred them to a farm run by the non-profit Starting Over Sanctuary, and then sent them to animal shelters in France and Belgium under the pretext of rescuing "animals in distress". This is not only misleading propaganda designed to mask the reality of genocide, but also a blatant act of looting and part of a systematic policy to dismantle the foundations of life in the Gaza Strip by seizing the last remaining means of survival under blockade and destruction.
Depicting such acts as humanitarian while all forms of life in Gaza have been systematically wiped out over the past 22 months is nothing more than a deceptive ploy aimed at manipulating global public opinion.
Israel's extermination of livestock is part of a systematic policy to enforce starvation and dismantle the foundations of survival. The ongoing military attacks have had catastrophic impacts on public health, the environment, agricultural land, and the quality of water, soil, and air, contributing to a deepening environmental collapse.
These impacts do not occur instantly but accumulate and intensify over time, eventually reaching a tipping point that can trigger sudden and alarming surges in the death toll. This is already evident in the daily deaths from hunger and malnutrition, with clear indications that the numbers will rise sharply unless the blockade is lifted and basic necessities are restored.
Access to food, in all its variations, and water is a fundamental human right essential to preserving health and dignity. This right can only be upheld by ending the genocide, lifting the blockade as a form of collective punishment and a war crime, and urgently salvaging what remains of the Gaza Strip, now rendered uninhabitable. Each day of delay risks pushing the enclave past the point of no return, at a grave cost to civilian lives and health.
States must urgently push for the restoration of humanitarian access and the lifting of the illegal blockade, as this is the only way to stop the accelerating humanitarian deterioration and ensure the entry of aid, given the imminent threat of famine.
The establishment of safe humanitarian corridors under UN supervision is vital to ensure the delivery of food, medicine, and fuel to all areas of the Gaza Strip, with the deployment of independent international monitors to verify compliance and ensure the rapid rehabilitation of the agricultural and livestock sectors as part of both emergency relief efforts and long-term recovery.
All states, individually and collectively, must urgently fulfil their legal obligations to halt the genocide in the Gaza Strip in all its forms. This includes taking concrete measures to protect Palestinian civilians in the enclave, ensure Israel's compliance with international law and the International Court of Justice rulings, and guarantee full accountability for crimes committed against Palestinians. Euro-Med Monitor also calls for the enforcement of the International Criminal Court arrest warrants issued for the Israeli Prime Minister and former Defence Minister, and for their swift surrender to international justice without regard to immunity.
The international community is urged to impose economic, diplomatic, and military sanctions on Israel and its more powerful allies, particularly the United States, for their grave and systematic breaches of international law; these sanctions should include comprehensive arms embargoes and the suspension of all forms of political, financial, military, and intelligence cooperation. In addition, Euro-Med Monitor calls for freezing the assets of responsible Israeli, US, and any complicit EU officials, banning their travel, halting their military and security companies' access to international markets, and suspending trade privileges and bilateral agreements that facilitate Israel's ongoing Western-backed crimes against the Palestinian people.
