AFSC staff meet with a farmer in Gaza, where we are providing agricultural support to help farmers rebuild and grow food to feed their communities. Photo: Amjad Al Fayoumi
My grandparents once spoke of the lands they lost when they were displaced in 1948, along with hundreds of thousands of other Palestinians. Today, I find myself hearing those same stories from others—only this time, I am living them, documenting them.
During a recent field visit in Gaza, I stood with farmers in Deir al-Balah who are doing something extraordinary: planting life after two years of genocide. They are receiving support from AFSC's emergency agricultural support program, which began in July and continues today.
Our team is now helping 19 farmers restore what was destroyed—providing fertilizers, seedlings, and pesticides, and rehabilitating damaged lands and greenhouses. The vegetables they are planting include tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants, peppers, and zucchinis. Once harvested, much of the produce will be distributed to displaced families and field kitchens, helping to sustain communities that continue to face starvation.
Through our agricultural support, AFSC provides farmers with fertilizers, seedlings, pesticides, and rehabilitating damaged lands and greenhouses. Photo: Amjad Al Fayoumi
During our visit with local farmers, we witnessed both an unshakable attachment to the land that no bulldozer can break—and a heartbreak that never leaves. Many of these farmers have seen their lands stolen, burned, and razed countless times over the past two years. Yet they return. They plant again. They refuse to let their connection to the land be severed—even as many other farmers remain prevented from reaching their own fields.
These efforts are not just about production. They are about protecting the roots of life in Gaza, giving farmers the strength to resist erasure and reclaim their right to the land.
Sustaining communities under blockade
Although a ceasefire was announced in early October, Israel continues to severely restrict humanitarian aid from entering Gaza. Over the past two years, AFSC has provided food parcels, hot meals, and other lifesaving aid to more than 1 million displaced Palestinians. Our ability to source food and other supplies locally has been key to our efforts.
AFSC's support for local farmers remains as critical as ever. Since July, our team has distributed over 2,500 vegetable kits—sourced directly from farmers in Gaza—to displaced families, reaching more than 18,000 people.
It is a testament to the strength and determination of Palestinian farmers that they have managed to grow anything during this genocide. Much of Gaza’s agricultural land has been destroyed or is impossible to access. Farmers face critical shortages of seeds, water, fuel, and equipment. Those who continue to cultivate their fields do so with remarkable resilience—embodying the unwavering spirit of Palestinians who continue to support each other in the face of overwhelming violence.
AFSC's agricultural support is part of our long-term commitment to Palestinians. While immediate humanitarian relief remains urgent, supporting farmers helps communities build toward a future beyond survival.
As I stood in those fields in Deir al-Balah, watching farmers tend to seedlings that will soon feed their neighbors, I thought of my grandparents’ stories. The connection to land, the determination to plant hope even in the darkest times—these are not just stories from the past. They are Gaza’s present. They are Gaza’s future.
Every seed planted today is a promise that Gaza will live.
