Palestinian farmers in the southern Gaza Strip have this week complained of the continued spraying of pesticides by Israeli forces on their farmlands, causing concern that crops will be damaged in the same way they have in the past.
Eyewitnesses told Ma’an News Agency that Israeli planes began spraying pesticides on farmlands above eastern Khan Yunis, near the Palestinian side of the “buffer zone”, on Wednesday morning.
The previous day, Palestinian farmers reported similar incidents in the southeastern and central-eastern parts of the Strip, threatening fields of melons, watermelons, okra and wheat.
Palestinian farmers have already spoken out against such actions this year, following the spraying of weedkillers by Israeli forces on farmlands near the Gaza border, burning crops and causing major losses for Palestinian growers.
The farmlands on the border area reportedly account for around a third of the growing area of the besieged Gaza Strip.
