Food & Climate
The sight of renowned Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie in Rafah, Egypt, to inspect food aid being delivered to Gaza, devastated by the Israeli war, is reminiscent of her distributing meals to victims of the Los Angeles wildfires in the United States at this time last year.
Jolie’s visit to the Rafah crossing on Friday, January 2, 2026, once again highlights Israel’s intransigence regarding the opening of the crossing, where trucks are lined up to deliver urgent aid to Palestinians, according to Food & Climate reports.
At the beginning of December, Israel announced it would unilaterally open the crossing, violating the ceasefire agreement after more than two years of a brutal war that killed approximately 10% of the Gaza Strip’s population. This prompted Egypt to deny the announcement.
In a joint statement issued on the day of Angelina Jolie’s visit to the Rafah crossing, Egypt and six other countries, including Saudi Arabia, urged the international community to pressure Israel, as the occupying power, to immediately lift restrictions on the entry and distribution of essential supplies to Gaza.
Angelina Jolie has been outspoken in her criticism of Israel since the beginning of its war on Gaza. Three weeks after Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023, she stated that the carnage “does not justify the taking of innocent lives by bombing civilians in Gaza who have no shelter.”
In November 2023, Jolie accused Israel of violating international law by “deliberately bombing children, women, and families, and depriving them of food, medicine, and humanitarian aid.”
Jolie said that world leaders were complicit in “crimes” and described Gaza as an “open-air prison” for nearly two decades, according to The Telegrph.
However, the reasons for the hunger and humanitarian needs that prompted Angelina Jolie to visit the two devastated locations are very different. In Gaza, it was due to the deliberate destruction of all resources necessary to keep people alive, while in Los Angeles, it was due to climate change.
Famine in Gaza Due to Aid Blockade and Destruction of Agricultural Land
Israel has destroyed more than 90% of Gaza’s agricultural land and prevented aid from entering, causing a famine that has killed dozens of Palestinians in the Strip, most of them children.
Last August, data from the United Nations, which declared famine in Gaza, indicated that 8.6% (1,301 hectares) of Gaza’s agricultural land was accessible, but only 1.5% (232 hectares) was undamaged.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations Satellite Centre (UNOSAT) assessed the affected area up to July 28, 2025, based on the 2023 agricultural land database. They defined the accessible area by excluding so-called restricted zones and areas subject to evacuation orders since March 18, 2025 (UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, July 2025), according to a statement received by the Food and Climate Platform.
The assessment found that 12.4% of agricultural land in Gaza (1,858 hectares) was undamaged but currently inaccessible.
The assessment also concluded that 86.1% of all agricultural land in Gaza was damaged, and that agricultural land in Rafah and northern Gaza, and almost all agricultural land in the Gaza Governorate, was inaccessible.
Los Angeles Wildfires
Wildfires broke out in Los Angeles in the first week of January 2025. Fueled by drought affecting vegetation, the fires spread rapidly, destroying thousands of hectares and homes in the city that is home to Hollywood and America’s wealthiest and most famous residents.
The agricultural sector, known for its diverse crops, faced unprecedented challenges as the fires spread to avocado, vineyard, and lemon orchards, disrupting local food production and livelihoods.
Farmers throughout Southern California faced the prospect of devastating crop damage from the Los Angeles wildfires. Alba Velásquez, executive director of the Los Angeles Food Policy Council, said farmers faced two main challenges: economic difficulties and air quality issues.
In 2020, smoke from nearby wildfires devastated crops in the wine country’s vineyards.
Angelina Jolie appeared in social media videos transporting meals with her young son, preparing them for distribution to homeless victims of the wildfires.