GAZA, March 30 (Xinhua) -- As dawn breaks over Al-Zawayda in central Gaza, Sanaa Yasser, 40, tends a small garden beside the tent that has been her home for more than two years. Rows of mint, basil, tomato, and cauliflower grow quietly, a rare sign of life amid widespread destruction.
Her family home in Tel al-Hawa, west of Gaza City, was destroyed in the early days of the Israeli offensive that began on Oct. 7, 2023. After fleeing several times, Yasser, her husband, and their children settled in their current shelter.
"We experienced the horrors of famine for many long months," Yasser said. Aid deliveries were slow, and food was scarce. She began to grow some plants to feed her family. Over time, the garden became a small source of hope.
"Each plant that grew brought a sense of life back to me," she said while watering the plants. "They remind me that life is still possible on our land, even under war and hardship."
In Beit Lahia, 72-year-old Khamis al-Attar cares for five grandchildren after losing his wife and son in an airstrike.
"Gaza is our land, and we cannot live away from it," he said, planting saplings. "I am teaching my grandchildren what land means. I do not want them to leave."
For Al-Attar, staying is also a form of resistance. "If everyone leaves Gaza, Israel could claim what little remains and erase our history," he said.
Monday marks Land Day, remembering March 30, 1976, when Palestinians in Israel protested the seizure of 21,000 dunams of land in the Galilee.
Despite a ceasefire on Oct. 10, 2025, the Israeli army controls more than 45 percent of Gaza, keeping tens of thousands from returning home.
"This is my grandfather's land. We will not give it up," said Suleiman Awda, from Beit Hanoun. Living in central Gaza City, he added, "We will return. We will not abandon it as our grandparents were forced to do in 1948."
Since the ceasefire, 704 Palestinians have been killed and 1,914 wounded by Israeli army fire, bringing the total since October 2023 to 72,280 dead and 172,014 injured, according to Gaza health authorities.
Despite the dire situation, most residents refuse to leave. For Palestinians like Yasser, Al-Attar, and others, the land is more than a livelihood; it embodies history and their identity as Palestinians.
"Every plant I grow, every tree I plant, is a reminder that we belong here," Yasser said. "We will endure and rebuild, for ourselves and for future generations."
