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STORY: GAZA / UNDP REVIVING FARMLAND
TRT: 05:20
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ARABIC / ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 15 JULY 2026, GAZA CITY
1. Various shots, Zeytun neighborhood, east of Gaza City, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) vehicles arriving at a rehabilitated agricultural site
2. Various shots, the UNDP Gaza Programme Manager inspecting agricultural land in the Zeytun neighborhood, east of Gaza City
3. Various shots, farmer Taysir Dahdouh working on his farmland, which was rehabilitated following the ceasefire in Gaza
4. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Taysir Dahdouh, Palestinian farmer:
“I had two and a half dunums (0.25 hectares) of agricultural greenhouses where I grew tomatoes and cucumbers, and I had a good income before the war. Suddenly, we were left with nothing. Even the steel frames of the greenhouses disappeared, along with our homes, belongings, and irrigation pipes. Nothing was left. After returning from displacement, we tried to restore the land using primitive tools, working together with our sons and daughters and the women of our family. We managed to rehabilitate about one dunum (1,000 m²) of our land to bring it back to life.”
5. Various shots, Wajiha Dahdouh working in her family's rehabilitated farmland
6. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Wajiha Dahdouh, Palestinian farmer:
“We came back to support ourselves and return to farming so we could survive. Unfortunately, there is not enough water, there are no fertilizers, no seeds, and none of the basic necessities that would allow people to continue their lives.”
7. Various shots, rehabilitated farmland replanted with a variety of crops
8. Various shots, Alessandro Mrakic, Head of Gaza Office for the Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People (UNDP), planting an olive tree alongside farmers in the Zeytun neighborhood of Gaza City
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Alessandro Mrakic, Head of Gaza Office, the Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People, UNDP:
“Behind me and around me you see destruction. All the buildings have been destroyed here. Families who were living here had been moving around several times. Recently, with the ceasefire, they came back, and that's where UNDP came in with all the partners. We have provided 200 relief housing units to provide shelter to the families who came back and started, as you see behind me, agriculture - started producing eggplants, tomatoes, molokhia, among others. This is definitely hope. It's hope for the future. They have restarted their life. Definitely, we are far from a dignified life, but this is the right step in the right direction. This is what we define early recovery. While the humanitarian needs are still very high, we are restarting. We are restarting with shelter. We are restarting also - this is becoming a livelihood for them. They're going to sell all the produce to the local markets here. And this is becoming an income that will give them opportunities for the future.”
10. Various shots, Alessandro Mrakic and UNDP teams inspecting the implementation of an emergency shelter project designed to provide housing for families working in the agricultural sector
Palestinian farmers in the Zeytun neighborhood, east of Gaza City, are working to restore agricultural land devastated during the war, relying on limited resources and early recovery projects led by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to help revive their livelihoods.
After returning to the area following the ceasefire, farmers began rehabilitating land that once contained greenhouses and agricultural infrastructure that had been destroyed or lost during the conflict, in an effort to revive a sector that suffered extensive damage.
Farmer Taysir Dahdouh, who returned to his land in Zeytun, said his 0.25 hectares farm, once covered with greenhouses producing tomatoes and cucumbers, had lost nearly all of its productive assets.
He said the destruction affected the greenhouses, irrigation systems, equipment, and personal property, adding that he and his family returned to work with only basic tools and succeeded in rehabilitating approximately 1,000 m² of land.
“We tried to restore the land using primitive tools, working together with our sons and daughters and the women of our family,” Dahdouh said.
His wife, Wajiha Dahdouh, now works alongside him in the replanted fields but says the lack of essential resources continues to threaten agricultural production.
“We came back to support ourselves and return to farming so we could survive. Unfortunately, there is not enough water, there are no fertilizers, no seeds, and none of the basic necessities that would allow people to continue their lives,” she said.
Efforts to restore agricultural activity come as Gaza continues to face a broad crisis affecting food security, water supplies, and critical infrastructure after months of war that caused widespread damage to farmland and food production facilities.
During a visit to early recovery projects in Zeytun, Alessandro Mrakic, Head of Gaza Office for the Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People said the scale of destruction reflects the challenges confronting returning residents.
He said families living in the area had been displaced multiple times before returning after the ceasefire, adding that UNDP and its partners had begun providing emergency shelter and restoring basic services.
Mrakic said the Programme had delivered 200 emergency shelter units for returning families while supporting the resumption of farming, with crops including eggplants, tomatoes, molokhia, and others already being cultivated.
“This is definitely hope. It's hope for the future. They have restarted their life. Definitely, we are far from a dignified life, but this is the right step in the right direction,” he said.
He said the projects fall within the framework of early recovery, which aims to help people restore livelihoods and essential services despite continuing humanitarian needs.
According to Mrakic, reviving agriculture is not only about producing food but also about restoring income opportunities by enabling farmers to sell their produce in local markets and rebuilding economic resilience.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and UNDP, extensive damage to Gaza's infrastructure and productive sectors has made early recovery a key pillar of the humanitarian response, alongside the continued need for emergency assistance.
UN agencies say rehabilitating agricultural land and restoring livelihoods are essential components of the post-emergency phase, helping reduce dependence on humanitarian aid while strengthening communities' resilience.
In the Zeytun neighborhood, farmers and UNDP officials planted a new olive tree, symbolizing efforts to restore agricultural life in an area that still bears the scars of widespread destruction.
