Gaza beekeeper starts again on rooftop amid ruins of war
Perched on the edge of a rooftop high above Gaza City's bombed-out landscape, Ibrahim al-Dabba lovingly tends his community of bees, cultivating a rare source of hope among the ruins of the Israel-Hamas war. Al-Dabba and his sons, donning protective netted hats and wielding metal bee smokers, gently inspect the neat rows of teeming hives.
On a rooftop overlooking Gaza City's devastated landscape, Ibrahim al-Dabba tends to his hive of bees, a symbol of resilience amid the war's ruins. The veteran beekeeper and his sons, clad in protective gear, carefully examine the hives' honeycomb frames, a far cry from the tranquil countryside they once nurtured. Before the October 2023 Israel-Hamas conflict, Gaza boasted over 40,000 beehives and 450 beekeepers, providing a livelihood for more than 1,000 families.
The war decimated Gaza's beekeeping culture, with 95% of the hives destroyed and most beekeepers pushed to the border regions. Al-Dabba's 400 hives, once in agricultural lands east of the city, were forced to relocate to the rooftop of a residential building, a far from ideal situation for the bees. He lamented that bees, like humans, are displaced, suffering in the same bombed-out urban neighborhood.
The war, triggered by Hamas' October 7, 2023 assault on Israel, has claimed over 73,300 lives, according to the Gaza health ministry's figures. Despite a ceasefire, violence persists, with Israel controlling more than 60% of Gaza. The humanitarian crisis remains dire, with essential supplies, including beekeeping equipment, barred from entry. Al-Dabba expressed hope for the bees' adaptation and the eventual return of peace and security.
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