An-Najah News -  Legal Center for Freedom of Movement, Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, and Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel sent an urgent letter to Israeli authorities yesterday demanding an immediate halt to Israel’s aerial herbicide spraying in the eastern Gaza Strip as Palestinians in Gaza desperately fight to keep coronavirus at bay and prevent its outbreak into the wider population.

Israeli crop-duster planes flew along the perimeter fence separating Gaza and Israel, spraying chemicals assumed to be herbicides. The spraying was conducted sporadically starting at 6:30 AM and lasted for almost three hours, first spraying the eastern parts of the Gaza City district, before commencing southward over the eastern areas of the Central Gaza district.

Al Mezan’s documentation however indicated that the sprayed chemicals damaged crops at a distance of at least 600 meters from the perimeter fence, with the total area of damage to cultivated land surpassing 280 hectares. At least 350 Palestinian farmers sustained financial losses, collectively exceeding $1 million, from the January spraying.

International law requires that Israel, as the occupying power, ensures adequate living conditions in the Gaza Strip. However, data collected on the impact of aerial herbicide spraying since the practice was first recorded in 2014 strongly indicates that the spraying poses a serious threat to the right to life as it directly undermines food security and health.

With access to health and food jeopardized by the potential spread of COVID-19 and the safety measures in place that push huge portions of the workforce to stay home, the chemical spraying is potentially compounding conditions at a critical time.