The burned-up tractor rested upside down on Mahmoud al-Attar’s farm in Beit Lahiya, the northern Gaza Strip. It’s not clear how the tractor ended up that way, but one can assume, judging by the deep holes in the earth and the destroyed greenhouses, that it was at the hands of the Israeli military.
On this morning in early February, al-Attar, 52, had returned to his land, which is about 500 meters from the northern boundary with Israel. We can see the occupation tanks at the boundary, and al-Attar always assumes that he is under surveillance, whether from those tanks or the drones that fly above.
Al-Attar was eager to return to his land after the ceasefire was announced on 19 January. For over a year he had been displaced by Israeli attacks to al-Mawasi, near the southern city of Khan Younis.
But the trip here was arduous. We rode in a car for one hour and then had to continue on foot for another hour because the roads were blocked by rubble from destroyed homes and buildings.
When we arrived, the farm was not in much better shape. ….more