DaysofPal- Across the eastern edge of the Gaza Strip, where some of the last remaining farmland lies after vast areas were bulldozed by Israeli forces, Palestinian farmers are confronting daily danger as they try to work their land under constant gunfire and artillery shelling.
Gaza’s agricultural land covers around 170,000 dunams — nearly half the territory’s total area — concentrated in the north, south, and east. But only about 5 percent of that land is currently cultivated after roughly 87 percent of Gaza’s farmland was destroyed, particularly areas east of the so-called “Yellow Line,” which accounts for 62 percent of all agricultural land.
Amir Al-Nasser works a plot just 100 meters from the Yellow Line east of Al-Bureij, where he grows parsley and peppers. The proximity to Israeli military positions has turned farming into a life-threatening task, with drones constantly overhead, tank artillery aimed toward the fields from sand mounds converted into military outposts, and snipers monitoring the area.
Any newcomer to these eastern zones, farmers say, can quickly feel the fear imposed by the landscape. For local farmers, that fear has become part of daily life.
Daily Attacks
After a long day of work, Al-Nasser washed dust from his face and hands before speaking about the risks farmers endure.
“Working near the Yellow Line is extremely dangerous,” he said. “We are constantly exposed to heavy fire from tanks, in addition to shelling. It is a direct threat to our lives while working the land.”
He said his family owns a five-dunam plot only meters from the line, while they rent another 27-dunam plot about 700 meters farther west.
Each morning when he heads to the fields, quadcopter drones drop explosives and tanks fire toward farmers, disrupting harvests and irrigation.
“When they shoot at us, we retreat,” he said. “Sometimes we watch the land from a distance. If things are calm, we quickly water the crops and leave immediately.”
Israeli vehicles and military posts are clearly visible from his land.
“Every time we go there, we carry our hearts in our hands,” he said. “We do not know if we will come back. We need to harvest to support our families. Yesterday, random gunfire was fired at us, and my brothers and I narrowly survived.”
He said the family stays in the fields from morning until sunset, moving between plots depending on military activity.
“As soon as we see a tank move, we leave everything and go, because it starts firing,” he said.
Rising Costs
Beyond the threat of death, farmers are also struggling with soaring costs and shortages of agricultural supplies.
Prices for irrigation pipes, plowing, and diesel fuel have multiplied many times over since before the war. Al-Nasser said operating a generator to irrigate the 27-dunam plot costs 700 shekels a day, as watering takes six to eight hours daily.
A roll of irrigation tubing that once cost 60 shekels now costs 1,000 shekels.
Despite the pressure, fear, and expense, Al-Nasser, his father, and many others continue farming.
“We cannot abandon it,” he said. “We inherited this profession from our grandfathers.”
Waiting to Harvest m
Further east of Al-Maghazi refugee camp, 40-year-old farmer Hammam Abu Saeed faces similar conditions.
His 10-dunam plot stretches in a narrow strip measuring 18 meters wide and 350 meters long. Because of the danger, he planted wheat only on the western half, leaving the eastern half uncultivated because it lies just 100 meters from the Yellow Line.
Sitting inside his home built on the same land, Abu Saeed said he fears for himself and his workers.
“When military vehicles move, we stay away,” he said. “They patrol and begin firing randomly toward western areas. Once they withdraw, we return to the land. Yesterday, a stray bullet pierced my bedroom.”
He planted wheat in late December and expects to harvest about half a ton in a month, enough to produce flour. But anxiety grows as harvest time nears.
“As the harvest approaches, we fear any attack or military advance,” he said.
He added that Israeli forces do not stop at the line itself, but enforce an additional buffer zone that prevents farmers from reaching nearby land. He is unable to cultivate the five dunams closest to the boundary, a reality shared by many farmers whose lands border the area.
Trying to Revive the Land
In northern Gaza, farmers are trying to bring life back to fields that can still be cultivated after widespread destruction.
On a 15-dunam plot in the Bir Al-Naaja area, farmer Samir Al-Attar stood beside land he rented, plowed, and connected to water lines while waiting for seeds to arrive — supplies that Israeli authorities continue to restrict and control.
With most agricultural machinery destroyed, Al-Attar used a horse to pull a plow and worked the soil by hand with an axe, as farmers once did generations ago. Preparing the land took three weeks.
His own farmland now lies inside the Yellow Line, so he hopes to grow zucchini, peppers, cucumbers, and vegetable seedlings on rented land instead.
He said his efforts have encouraged other farmers to clear nearby plots measuring 10 and 20 dunams.
“Supporting agriculture in northern Gaza will lower vegetable prices and strengthen people’s resilience in areas completely bulldozed by the Israeli army,” he said.
Al-Attar lives in Al-Atatra west of Beit Lahia, only 60 meters from the Yellow Line. Every day he looks toward his flattened farmland and poultry farms, all leveled during the war. He tried to replant during the first truce in January 2025, but Israeli forces bulldozed the land again.
### Food Crisis Deepens
Agricultural expert Nizar Al-Waheidi said Gaza has lost 95 percent of its agricultural production because of the war, triggering sharp price increases and a deepening food crisis.
He said food security depends on three conditions: availability, affordability, and safety — all of which are currently absent in Gaza.
“The war has not ended,” he said. “What exists is only a ceasefire from the Palestinian side, while Israeli forces fire daily. This has discouraged farmers from staying on or cultivating their land.”
Al-Waheidi added that while some farming continues east of Al-Bureij and Al-Maghazi, areas such as Al-Mughraqa near Wadi Gaza remain inaccessible because Israeli military sites overlook the land and routinely fire into surrounding areas, making agriculture impossible even hundreds of meters from the Yellow Line.
He said only about 4,000 dunams are currently cultivated across the entire Gaza Strip.
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