DaysofPal- Under the fading winter sun in western Gaza, Umm Hamada Qarout bends over a sidewalk near the Abbas intersection, carefully pruning the leaves of the “lisan” plant.
With weary hands, she fills a plastic bag that will serve as her family’s only meal for iftar on the twenty-second day of Ramadan. In Gaza, wild plants like lisan and khubeiza have transformed from traditional winter foods into symbols of survival for over two million people enduring imposed hunger amid a suffocating blockade and closed crossings.
“I searched everywhere for something to feed my children, but I found nothing but these wild plants,” Umm Hamada says in a low voice, her tone heavy with despair. “No meat, no chicken—vegetables are even out of reach.” The 50-year-old woman lives with her married son, who earns a monthly salary of just 800 shekels—an amount woefully insufficient to meet their basic needs in the face of the deepening food crisis that has gripped the Gaza Strip for over 530 days.
Wild Plants: The Last Resort
In a makeshift camp along Third Street in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, Umm Ahmed Abu Halima sits outside her plastic tent, sorting through the khubeiza leaves she collected earlier from a nearby plot of land. She dusts off the dirt and sighs. “We no longer have anything to eat but these plants,” she explains. “In the first months of the war, we were forced to eat them because of the famine, but now we’re returning to them again because the markets are empty, and prices are skyrocketing.”
The World Food Programme (WFP) announced it has been unable to bring any food supplies into Gaza since March 2 due to Israeli closure of all border crossings to humanitarian and commercial goods. The WFP noted that commercial food prices have surged dramatically since the blockade began, with staples such as flour, sugar, and vegetables seeing price increases of over 200%.
Cooking khubeiza is no longer what it used to be. “Some of us cook it with just water because olive oil and spices have become scarce,” Umm Ahmed says. “Others try to add a little flour to thicken the broth.” Her voice grows more desperate as she adds, “Sometimes I share food with my neighbors in the camp. Each one brings something from what she has, but we all survive on minimal food.”
Wild Plants Invade Markets
In the Sheikh Radwan market, vendor Ahmed Hamouda stands behind a stall stocked with mallow, spinach, and chard. Despite the scarcity of goods, the market buzzes with activity as customers search for affordable options. “Before the war, these plants were sold at low prices, and people bought them sparingly,” Hamouda recalls while bundling greens for his customers. “Now, they are among the most sought-after products.”
Hamouda observes that some families have resorted to unfamiliar edible plants like purslane. “Anything edible is in demand, even if it wasn’t part of our previous eating habits,” he says. “People here are living on the edge.”
A Systematic Starvation Policy
The reliance on wild plants is not driven by dietary preferences or cultural traditions but rather by what the Government Media Office in Gaza describes as a “systematic starvation policy.” In a recent statement, the office accused Israeli occupation of deliberately worsening the crisis of hunger and thirst in Gaza. Since October 7, 2023, over 2.4 million Palestinians have faced the risk of famine and dehydration due to the blockade and the closure of crossings.
The statement emphasized that Israeli occupation is preventing the entry of essential supplies, including food, water, medicine, and fuel, creating an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe. These measures, according to the office, constitute “a crime of genocide by slowly killing civilians through a policy of starvation.”
Survival Against All Odds
For families like those of Umm Hamada and Umm Ahmed, every day is a struggle against hunger and despair. What was once considered a humble addition to meals during winter has now become the primary source of sustenance. As the Israeli blockade tightens its grip, Gazans continue to adapt in ways unimaginable, relying on the land—and each other—to endure the unrelenting hardships.
Yet, beneath the resilience lies a haunting question: How much longer can they hold on? With no end in sight to the blockade and dwindling resources, the people of Gaza remain trapped in a cycle of deprivation, clinging to hope in the face of systematic policies designed to starve them into submission.
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