"Israel destroyed or made inaccessible 98.5 percent of Gaza's agricultural land. My family's olive grove is part of it. Last week, a ceasefire was announced after two years of genocide in Gaza. The bombs have stopped falling, but the devastation remains. The majority of homes, schools, hospitals, universities, factories, and commercial buildings have been reduced to rubble. From above, Gaza looks like a grey desert of rubble, its vibrant urban spaces reduced to ghost towns, its lush agricultural land and greenery wiped out."
"The occupier's aim was not only to render the Palestinians of Gaza homeless but also unable to provide for themselves. Uprooting the dispossessed and impoverished, those who have lost their connection to the land, is of course much easier. This was the goal when Israeli tanks and bulldozers entered my family's plot of land in the eastern part of Maghazi refugee camp and uprooted 55 olive trees, 10 palms and five fig trees."
Israeli operations left 98.5 percent of Gaza's agricultural land destroyed or inaccessible, transforming fertile areas into rubble and barren landscapes. Homes, schools, hospitals, universities, factories and commercial buildings were largely reduced to ruins, producing ghost towns and widespread displacement. The strategy aimed to render people homeless and unable to sustain themselves, severing their connection to land and livelihoods. In Maghazi refugee camp, a 2,000-square-metre family plot—originally offered as shelter during the 1948 Nakba and later purchased by grandfather Ali Alsaloul—lost 55 olive trees, 10 palms and five fig trees to tanks and bulldozers. The destruction eradicated sources of food, income and cultural heritage.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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