After approximately four months of a fragile ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, the land is cautiously beginning to breathe again. The silence that envelops the fields is not a sign of recovery; rather, it represents a brief pause between two devastations. Despite the destruction brought upon their lands by occupation, farmers are returning, armed only with their manual axes and a green memory that refuses to fade, coupled with hope pinned on the Gaza Management Committee, which is expected to commence its duties at the end of this week, providing support to those who remain steadfast against the chaos.

Among them is farmer Mahmoud al-Ghoule, 55 years old, who stands in the city of Gaza reflecting on his fields that were once a vibrant green, overflowing with vegetables. His eyes search for traces of the past amid piles of dirt and ashes tangled with dried weeds. Al-Ghoule recalls being forced to flee his land in October 2023 when war broke out, and he relocated to the southern areas. His land was fertile and was the basis for his family's food and livelihood, serving as their sole source of income.

When he returned in February 2024, Mahmoud was met with devastation. He found no tools to work with, no crops to harvest, and the landscape starkly different from what he remembered. This return to agriculture is not merely an act of farming; it symbolizes a desperate attempt to reclaim life and resilience in the face of relentless obliteration, as farmers like him seek to reinstate a sense of normalcy in a region battered by conflict.