At dawn in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, Ahmad Ghaben walks towards his field with his sons. It lies only 500 metres from the “yellow line", behind which Israeli forces are stationed.
Every day, gunfire echoes across the soil. Every day, soldiers attempt to push him away, to undo what he and his children have rebuilt with their bare hands.
After the Israel-Hamas ceasefire in October 2025, he and his sons returned to their land and the rubble of their home. Nothing was left as it had been: no tools, no seeds, no seedlings, no water systems.
“We literally dug through rock,” Mr Ghaben told the National.
Continue Reading on The National UAE
This preview shows approximately 15% of the article. Read the full story on the publisher's website to support quality journalism.