The Israeli army has called up more than 300,000 reserve soldiers, most of whom work in development sectors, including agriculture, to participate in the war it declared on the Gaza Strip following the October 7 Hamas attacks.
With the withdrawal of this large number, Israel’s economic sectors began to be severely affected, particularly agriculture, which provides it with self-sufficiency in many staple foods.
Israeli media reported that Agriculture Minister Oded Forer has urgently asked the Immigration and Population Authority to bring in foreign workers to fill the shortage, so that Israel is not exposed to food shortages.
A report from the Israeli website “0404” states:
- Fields near the Gaza Strip, Lebanon and Syria were damaged.
- 4 thousand workers who worked in agriculture have left Israel.
- Interior Minister Moshe Arbel asked the Population and Immigration Authority to urgently recruit workers.
- The Authority has already submitted requests to several countries to hire workers to save the agricultural sector.
Political analyst Nazar Jabr continues for Sky News Arabia by clarifying the general picture of the current situation in Israel regarding the supply of crops and what is expected to be achieved if the conflict lasts for months:
- The farms surrounding the Gaza Strip provide Israel with more than a third of the food it needs.
- The Golan and the farms near Lebanon are very fertile and there are many water sources around them, especially Lake Tiberias.
- Israel has crop-rich farmland near areas and countries with which it has major disagreements, which are now turning into war zones where forces are gathering.
- After the October 7 attack, Israel evacuated nearly all settlements around Gaza, as well as near Lebanon and Syria.
- Foreign workers left, as well as around two thousand farmers who joined the Israeli army, meaning that 70% of the agricultural sector’s capacity was damaged by the war.
- Western aid to Israel in this area will not meet its needs, leaving Israel on the brink of economic disaster.
- Let’s not forget that the Ukrainian-Russian crisis caused damage to global food security, and Israel was not damaged at the beginning of the crisis, but now it may be like African countries waiting for aid after this war.