Bulldozing the ceasefire

Bulldozing the ceasefire

15 — 17 January 2013 | Khuza’a, Gaza Strip, Occupied Palestine

At about 8.30pm on Tuesday 15th January, Israeli tanks and military bulldozers breached the border adjacent to the village of Khuza’a, east of Khan Younis and intruded inside the Gaza Strip. The incursion into Palestinian farmland continued through the night and added to the long list of Israeli ceasefire violations.

Heavy shooting was reported during the assault but fortunately there were no injuries on this occasion. Also, explosions were heard but no homes were damaged. Terrified locals contacted the International Committee of the Red Cross but were told that the Israeli military … Continue reading

Israeli forces fire on Gaza farmers and internationals in Khuza’a [Update: Video Added]

Israeli forces fire on Gaza farmers and internationals in Khuza’a [Update: Video Added]

12th December 2012 |  Khuza’a, Besieged Gaza.

Gaza- Israeli forces fired live ammunition and tear gas at unarmed farmers and international activists working in Khuza’a, a small village outside of Khan Younis located near the Israeli border.  At 10:30 AM, the farmers arrived and began to plough approximately 100 meters from the separation fence while internationals lined up in between the border and the farmers. They were quickly met by an Israeli military jeep and transport vehicle. An Israeli soldier issued a warning in Arabic to leave the area and then fired two … Continue reading

Gazan farmers at work in Khuza’a

Gazan farmers at work in Khuza’a

by Joshua Brollier

10 December 2012 |  Besieged Gaza strip, Khuza’a

Today, Gazan farmers from Khuza’a, a small village near Khan Younis, worked on their land in defiance of Israeli military harassment. Farmers ploughed approximately seven dunams and then sowed wheat in a plot that they had previously been denied access to before the November 21st, 2012 ceasefire.  The farmers successfully worked up to 100 meters from the separation fence.  The Israeli military arbitrarily designates this area as a restricted military buffer zone, otherwise known as the “kill zone.” According to the workers, they have not been able to farm on this specific plot of land for the past ten years.  Formerly an orchard, Israeli forces bulldozed the field multiple times during military incursions and regularly shoots at farmers who attempt to work there. Continue reading

Wheat farmers under fire in Gaza: We must continue to work our land

For more photos click here

by Nathan Stuckey

23 April 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, Gaza

For more photos click here
Today we went farming with the family of Ahmed Saadat.  We arrived in Khuzaa at about 7 AM and met Ahmed. He told us that the Israeli’s had already shot at his family when they went to their land to begin work.  We went to the land, which lies 300 meters from the border and directly on the buffer zone.  You immediately know the buffer zone, nothing is planted in it, no trees are … Continue reading

13 January 2009: Hibba al-Najjar

Hibba al-Najjar (17) sitting opposite her home in Khuza'a village (Photo: Palestinian Centre for Human Rights)

13 January 2012 | Palestinian Centre for Human Rights

“The first two years I could manage but this year I have been suffering a lot from the loss of my mother. When I see girls from my school with their mother or talking about their mother, I miss my mother even more. I need to have her with me.”

In the early morning of 13 January 2009, following two days of home demolitions, the Israeli army started to shell the village of Khuza’a and its surroundings, using high explosive and white phosphorous artillery … Continue reading

28 December 2008: The Abu Taima family

(Photo: Palestinian Center for Human Rights)

27 December 2011 | Palestinian Center for Human Rights

“Living under occupation means that whatever hopes we have, it will fall apart one day. For example, you bring up your child and put all of your hopes in him or her, but then they come and kill your child and all your hopes are destroyed.”

In the early morning of 28 December 2008 Mahmoud Abu Taima, his wife Manal, and their two oldest sons, Khalil and Nabil were collecting zucchini from their lands in Khuza’a village, east of Khan Younis. After a … Continue reading

Sowing wheat in Israel’s kill zone

Mahmood Suleiman Qudiah sows wheat near the Buffer Zone (Photo: Radhika Sainath, Notes from Behind the Blockade) - Click here for more images

by Radhika Sainath

22 November 2011 | Notes from Behind the Blockade

One need not be an agronomist to know that its been a long time since the farmers of Khuza’a, Gaza have tended to their land near the border.  When we arrived on Friday, the densely packed soil formed small hills with alien, ridged, patterns: Israeli tanks had roamed here, dozens of them. It was hard to imagine how anything ever grew on this brown, barren soil, much less the hundreds of olive, orange and grapefruit trees the Qudaih family reminisced about.

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The Israeli Army shot at me and 3 Palestinian kids in Gaza today

Children duck to avoid Israeli Army gunfire - Click here for more images

Radhika S.
28 October 2011 | Notes from Behind the Blockade

After a lovely day of drinking excessive amounts of tea with a few families in South Gaza (Faraheen and Khuza’a, to be exact), an Italian colleague, Silvia, who used to live in Khuza’a, suggested walking down the road towards the local school.  It was late afternoon, about 4:30 p.m. and dozens of children played in the area.  We walked past  slices of a giant concrete wall placed in the middle of the road.  The slivers reminded me of Israel’s Apartheid … Continue reading

Israeli army shoots at children and two ISM activists

Silvia Todeschini
28 October 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, Gaza

Witnesses in Gaza today reported an escalation of Israeli aggression in the Khuza’a – Abasan, governate of Khan Younis, Gaza Strip.  The Israeli army also shot at two ISM activists and local children.

Israeli tanks entered Gaza this morning, from approximately 7.30 to 8.30, moving from the village of Faraheen to Khuza’a.  Residents reported hearing numerous gun shots. Suzanne, who lives in the north of Khuza’a, confirmed that in recent days, Israeli tanks have entered Gaza on a daily basis. Another women, Taragi, who lives in the south of Khuza, also confirmed that … Continue reading

Do you see that land? That land is mine and I cannot go there

Harvesting grain in Khuza’a.

14 May 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, Gaza

On May 8, 9, and 10th the farmers of Khuza’a harvested their wheat. Khuza’a is a village near the Israeli border in the southern Gaza Strip. For three days they visited the fields, starting very early in the morning and picking the fruits of their land. For three days the Israeli occupation forces fired from their automated turret while the farmers continued to harvest their grain. However, they did not allow the Israeli Occupation Force to prevent … Continue reading


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