Israeli dam burst hits Gaza farmers

The dam of an Israeli reservoir near the border with the Gaza Strip has burst, flooding Palestinian and Israeli farmland.

The Palestinian Environment Minister, Youssef Abou Safia, described the flooding as a disaster, saying it had damaged agriculture in northern Gaza, affecting livestock as well as hundreds of homes. The reservoir near the Nahal Oz farm was intended for summer use by farmers. An Israeli water company official said faulty construction of the dam, which had been filled for the first time this year, could be to blame.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service