Gaza City, Gaza Strip - It's 4am, and Gaza is still dark and quiet. But Khaled Abu Madeen has a routine, one that he has recently picked up again after being forced to abandon it over nearly three years of war. He walks between the rows of grapevines in Sheikh Ijlin, in the southwestern corner of Gaza City, alongside his workers, checking the fruit and cutting bunches from the vines that have survived Israel's genocidal war.
The early morning air is cooler. The first light begins to spread across the vineyard, revealing rows of green that, for a time, Khaled feared he might never see again. For Khaled, who is 50, this year is more than a harvest.
It is the return of a life he thought he had lost. His family has cultivated grapes and figs in Sheikh Ijlin for generations. The land was inherited from his father and grandfather, and Khaled eventually made farming his full-time profession, leaving behind a career in project management.
Then, in October 2023, the war began. Khaled had the opportunity to leave. His wife is Lebanese-Italian, and Khaled himself had previously studied in Italy, earning an undergraduate and a postgraduate degree.
Moving to safety in Italy made sense. But that would mean abandoning his vineyards, and Khaled couldn't do it. For the first few months of the war, Khaled stayed in Gaza City, refusing to leave despite the danger.
His wife and children were eventually evacuated to Italy. Khaled stayed behind, trying to remain close to the land and his elderly mother. Then the Israeli strikes moved closer.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
