Guava season in Gaza: surviving trees struggle to bear fruit amid Israel's genocide

In al-Mawasi area in the southern coastal enclave of the Gaza Strip, the guava season has arrived on land where orchards once stretched across thousands of dunams.

But much of that landscape has disappeared under Israeli bombardment and bulldozing, while other parts are now occupied by tents housing displaced Palestinians amid three years of an Israeli genocide.

Among the trees that remain, farmer Khaled Al-Najjar moves carefully through his land, checking the guavas that have ripened and are ready to be picked. This year's harvest is less about abundance than salvaging whatever the war has left behind, he says.

"This land used to be full of trees and workers, but today, some parts are inaccessible, while others have become shelters for displaced people. We are no longer farming the way we used to. We are simply trying to find whatever space is still available to work," the 56-year-old father of eight told The New Arab.

Before the Israeli genocidal war, Al-Najjar cultivated around 3,000 dunams in Al-Mawasi, Khan Yunis. That area has now fallen to roughly 500 dunams that can still be used for cultivation.

Losing farmland is only part of the problem. The trees that survived the destruction are struggling with shortages of water, fertilisers, pesticides and fuel, leaving farmers unable to provide the care needed to maintain production.

"Even the trees that survived need to be saved," al-Najjar said. "Without water and agricultural supplies, it is becoming harder to care for them. When the trees produce less, farmers lose money and workers lose the days they depend on."

He has no clear idea when the damaged areas will become usable again. For now, his attention remains fixed on the surviving trees and the small amount of fruit that can still reach Gaza's markets.

"We are not asking for the land to be restored overnight," he added. "What matters now is stopping the losses and allowing us to reach our land again. The land knows its owners, but what happened has made it impossible for us to care for it as we once did."

Season of scarcity

For Khan Younis-based agricultural worker Ibrahim Shehadeh, the difference between this year's guava season and those before the war is visible in the number of people working in the fields.

"In previous seasons, we worked in large groups because the land needed many hands during harvest […] Now there is much less work, and every farmer is trying to get whatever he can from the trees that remain," he told TNA.

Even small quantities of fruit are being collected, with farmers reluctant to leave anything behind at a time when every kilogram can bring much-needed income.

The guava season in Gaza normally runs from September through December. But the war has disrupted almost every stage of production, from reaching farmland and maintaining trees to harvesting, transporting and selling the crop.

The consequences are also being felt by consumers.

At a market in Khan Yunis, Maysaa Abu Khalil examines the price of guavas before deciding how much she can afford to take home.

She found each kilogram was sold for US$10, which is expensive for her.

"Before the war, we used to buy it for less than one dollar […] Unfortunately, fruit has become something we buy only when the household budget allows. When prices are high, we either buy a small amount or leave it altogether," she told TNA.

With food prices rising and household incomes under severe pressure, the decline in local agricultural production has created another burden for families already struggling to secure basic necessities.

Agriculture under attack

"The fate of Gaza's guava crop reflects the broader collapse of the territory's agricultural sector," Hossam Qasim, an agricultural researcher, told TNA.

Before the war, around 1,700 dunams were planted with guava in Gaza. That figure has now fallen to less than 100 dunams, according to Qasim.

"Replanting trees is possible in principle, but the damage is much more serious than the loss of trees. The land itself has been damaged, along with water networks and irrigation sources, while accessing agricultural areas has become increasingly difficult," he added.

Water has emerged as another major threat, particularly in al-Mawasi. Qasim explained that salinity in some water sources has risen from around 400 parts per million to between 4,000 and 5,000 parts per million.

Such levels can reduce productivity and threaten the long-term survival of trees, he explains, which means that restoring Gaza's orchards will require more than just planting new trees.

"The water crisis has to be addressed alongside the rehabilitation of the land," he continued.

The damage to Gaza's agricultural sector extends far beyond individual orchards.

Raafat Asaliya, a spokesperson for Gaza's Ministry of Agriculture, estimates the sector's total damage and losses at around US$3 billion, including approximately US$1.49 billion in direct damage and US$1.59 billion in indirect losses.

Around 8,700 agricultural water wells have been rendered inoperable due to Israel, according to the ministry, while 3,828 agricultural water ponds have been damaged and around 1,371 kilometres of agricultural water transmission lines were destroyed by Israeli bombardment.