Gaza – SABA:
The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor reported on Saturday that the Israeli occupation has nearly annihilated Gaza’s livestock, with approximately 97% destroyed through direct bombing or systematic starvation.
In a statement received by the Yemeni News Agency (SABA), the Monitor said that Israel’s targeted destruction of livestock—including working animals that served as the last means of transport amid fuel shortages and widespread mobility paralysis—was part of a calculated policy aimed at starving the population, eliminating food resources, and imposing severe humanitarian and psychological suffering.
The Monitor stressed that these actions collectively form core components of an ongoing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
It asserted that Israel’s conduct reflects a systematic pattern of genocide through the imposition of unlivable conditions, aimed at physically destroying the population. This is being carried out via the organized destruction of food sources and agricultural and livestock production, alongside large-scale killing, an illegal blockade, and deliberate restrictions on food imports for nearly two years.
According to the Monitor, this constitutes a grave violation of international law and clearly signals an intent to destroy the Palestinian people as a protected group under the Genocide Convention.
Before the genocide began in October 2023, Gaza had around 6,500 poultry farms producing roughly three million chickens per month for local markets. As of day 666 of the Israeli assault, over 93% of these farms have been completely destroyed, and the rest have ceased all operations.
The Monitor’s field team documented the deaths of tens of thousands of birds due to bombings or a lack of feed and water—one of the most extensive cases of deliberate destruction of a food source based on white meat.
Field data also indicated that before the assault, Gaza had around 15,000 cows—more than 97% of which are now dead, either due to direct attacks or starvation. Only a small number were slaughtered early in the conflict due to a lack of alternatives.
As for sheep and goats, estimates show Gaza had about 60,000 sheep and 10,000 goats prior to the genocide. Current data indicates over 97% have perished—either bombed or starved—as part of a deliberate campaign against food sources and livelihoods.
Before the genocide, Gaza also had an estimated 20,000 donkeys, as well as many horses and mules used for transportation. By August 2024, about 43% of these working animals had died. As of today, less than 6% remain, reflecting near-total collapse of this essential sector.
Donkeys and mules have become Gaza’s primary means of transport—used for moving people, aid, the wounded, and even corpses—due to the destruction of roads and vehicles, and the near-total fuel shortage. Despite growing reliance on these animals, most have died, and the few remaining are so malnourished and overworked that they can no longer function.
The Euro-Med Monitor warned that this collapse of Gaza’s animal resources is not collateral damage—it is a central component of a systematic, intentional effort to starve and break the population.