Israeli Troops Said to Kill Palestinian, Testing Cease-Fire

[Igel]

8. The Gaza strip has farms.

Given that most of the population is under age 20, it makes sense that there'd be young farm workers. ("Farmer" is probably not the word we'd use these days.)

Strawberries and other fruit; vegetables; in previous years, flowers for export.

Farms are one reason that so much of their water is contaminated. They overuse manure and fertilizers, and the chemicals seep down into the groundwater. They overuse the aquifer for farming, and so saltwater from the sea infiltrates the aquifer nearest the coast.

The farms guarantee some local food supply and a ready export. On the other hand, keeping the land free for farms also ensures that the population has to be packed together. The 3rd and 4th-generation "refugees" tend to be sequestered in refugee camps and packed even more densely (the population that was there in 1948 no more wanted to assimilate the refugees than the Lebanese and Syrians did).