Large parts of Gaza have effectively been removed from productive economic life as Israel’s ongoing genocidal war reshapes both the territory’s geography and economy, according to Palestinian economic analyst Ahmed Abu Qamar. He warned that expanding military restrictions, referred to locally as the “yellow line”, are isolating major agricultural and industrial zones and deepening Gaza’s economic collapse.

Abu Qamar said the restricted zone now covers around 60 per cent of the Gaza Strip, including more than 80 per cent of agricultural land previously used for food production. Before the genocidal war, Gaza contained roughly 195,000 dunams of farmland, with nearly half actively cultivated with vegetables, grains and fruit trees that formed a crucial part of the local economy and food supply.

He explained that agriculture had contributed more than 11 per cent of Gaza’s gross domestic product before large-scale destruction and access restrictions devastated the sector. Vast areas of farmland have either been destroyed or rendered inaccessible, severely undermining local food production at a time when hunger and aid dependency continue to rise across the territory.

The industrial sector has also suffered extensive damage. Abu Qamar said industrial zones in northern, eastern and southern Gaza had been largely destroyed, forcing factories, workshops and storage facilities to shut down. Thousands of businesses have reportedly ceased operations entirely as commercial activity across the enclave continues to collapse.

According to Abu Qamar, Gaza’s economy contracted by more than 87 per cent during 2025 compared with pre-war levels, while unemployment has surged beyond 80 per cent and poverty now affects more than 90 per cent of the population. He warned that the longer-term danger lies not only in the scale of destruction but in the gradual dismantling of Gaza’s productive economy, where communities are increasingly pushed away from work and self-sufficiency towards permanent dependence on humanitarian aid.