<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>

    <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
  </head>
  <body style="font-kerning: auto;--image-offset-margin: -120px;"
    class="email-body">
    <br>
    <div class="moz-forward-container">
      <meta charset="utf-8">
      <title>\u201cWe Estimate That Nearly One Million of Gaza\u2019s 1.1 Million
        Olive Trees Have Been Destroyed\u201d</title>
      <style></style><img
src="https://eotrx.substackcdn.com/open?token=eyJtIjoiPDIwMjUxMDIwMTcxODEzLjMuNDcxZmQyYjk5NzNkMDZhOUBtZy1kMS5zdWJzdGFjay5jb20-IiwidSI6MzY3NTE1ODMsInIiOiJjbGF1ZGVAZnJlZWRvbWFyY2hpdmVzLm9yZyIsImQiOiJtZy1kMS5zdWJzdGFjay5jb20iLCJwIjoxNzY2NTc5NjMsInQiOiJuZXdzbGV0dGVyIiwiYSI6ImV2ZXJ5b25lIiwicyI6MjUxMDM0OCwiYyI6InBvc3QiLCJmIjp0cnVlLCJwb3NpdGlvbiI6InRvcCIsImlhdCI6MTc2MDk4MjQ4OSwiZXhwIjoxNzYzNTc0NDg5LCJpc3MiOiJwdWItMCIsInN1YiI6ImVvIn0.jOssik39A-6a2p6qr_U5GdfRiRB2CfAT80ql5ZzlsqY"
        alt="" width="1" height="1" border="0"
style="height:1px !important;width:1px !important;border-width:0 !important;margin-top:0 !important;margin-bottom:0 !important;margin-right:0 !important;margin-left:0 !important;padding-top:0 !important;padding-bottom:0 !important;padding-right:0 !important;padding-left:0 !important;"
        moz-do-not-send="true">
      <div class="preview"
style="display:none;font-size:1px;color:#333333;line-height:1px;max-height:0px;max-width:0px;opacity:0;overflow:hidden;">Gaza\u2019s
        olive groves have been bulldozed by the Israeli military, dried
        up from lack of water, or remain inaccessible, leaving
        Palestinian farmers with little to harvest.</div>
      <div class="preview"
style="display:none;font-size:1px;color:#333333;line-height:1px;max-height:0px;max-width:0px;opacity:0;overflow:hidden;">\u034f
          \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f  
        \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007
        ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007
        ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007
        ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007
        ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007
        ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007
        ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007
        ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007
        ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007
        ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007
        ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007
        ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007
        ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007
        ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007
        ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007
        ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007
        ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007
        ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007
        ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007
        ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007
        ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007 ­\u034f   \u2007
        ­\u034f   \u2007 ­</div>
      <table class="email-body-container" role="presentation"
        width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
        <tbody>
          <tr>
            <td></td>
            <td class="content" width="550"></td>
            <td></td>
          </tr>
          <tr>
            <td></td>
            <td class="content" width="550" align="left">
              <div
style="font-size: 16px;line-height: 26px;max-width: 550px;width: 100%;margin: 0 auto;overflow-wrap: break-word;">
                <table role="presentation" width="100%" border="0"
                  cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
                  <tbody>
                    <tr>
                      <td align="right" style="height:20px;">
                        <table role="presentation" width="auto"
                          border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
                          <tbody>
                            <tr>
                              <td style="vertical-align:middle;"><span
class="pencraft pc-reset reset-IxiVJZ tw-font-body tw-text-ssm tw-text-substack-secondary"
style="font-family: SF Pro Text, -apple-system, system-ui, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, Segoe UI, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, Apple Color Emoji, Segoe UI Emoji, Segoe UI Symbol;font-size: 13px;color: unset;list-style: none;text-decoration: unset;margin: 0;">
                                  <div
class="pencraft pc-reset align-right-VJbKw5 size-12-mmZ61m reset-IxiVJZ"
style="list-style: none;color: unset;text-align: right;font-size: 12px;line-height: 16px;text-decoration: unset;margin: 0;"><span
class="pencraft pc-reset reset-IxiVJZ" translated=""
style="list-style: none;color: unset;text-decoration: unset;margin: 0;">Forwarded
                                      this email? <a
class="pencraft pc-reset decoration-underline-ClTkYc reset-IxiVJZ"
href="https://substack.com/redirect/2/eyJlIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZHJvcHNpdGVuZXdzLmNvbS9zdWJzY3JpYmU_dXRtX3NvdXJjZT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fY2FtcGFpZ249ZW1haWwtc3Vic2NyaWJlJnI9bHZwcGImbmV4dD1odHRwcyUzQSUyRiUyRnd3dy5kcm9wc2l0ZW5ld3MuY29tJTJGcCUyRmdhemEtb2xpdmUtZ3JvdmVzLW9pbC1mYXJtZXJzLWlzcmFlbC13YXIiLCJwIjoxNzY2NTc5NjMsInMiOjI1MTAzNDgsImYiOnRydWUsInUiOjM2NzUxNTgzLCJpYXQiOjE3NjA5ODI0ODksImV4cCI6MjA3NjU1ODQ4OSwiaXNzIjoicHViLTAiLCJzdWIiOiJsaW5rLXJlZGlyZWN0In0.zth6GMpluMCw_ea0LTPawm5AE3HEgUs_uFd6uUc8v4Y?"
style="list-style: none;color: unset;text-decoration: unset;margin: 0;-webkit-text-decoration-line: underline;text-decoration-line: underline;"
                                        moz-do-not-send="true">Subscribe
                                        here</a> for more</span></div>
                                </span></td>
                            </tr>
                          </tbody>
                        </table>
                      </td>
                    </tr>
                  </tbody>
                </table>
                <div class="post typography" dir="auto"
style="--image-offset-margin: -120px;padding: 32px 0 0 0;font-size: 16px;line-height: 26px;">
                  <div class="post-header" role="region"
                    aria-label="Post header"
                    style="font-size: 16px;line-height: 26px;">
                    <h1 class="post-title published title-X77sOw"
                      dir="auto"
style="direction: auto;text-align: start;unicode-bidi: isolate;color: rgb(54,55,55);font-family: 'SF Pro Display',-apple-system-headline,system-ui,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif,'Apple Color Emoji','Segoe UI Emoji','Segoe UI Symbol';font-weight: bold;-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;-moz-osx-font-smoothing: antialiased;-webkit-appearance: optimizelegibility;-moz-appearance: optimizelegibility;appearance: optimizelegibility;margin: 0;line-height: 36px;font-size: 32px;"><a
href="https://substack.com/app-link/post?publication_id=2510348&amp;post_id=176657963&amp;utm_source=post-email-title&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=true&amp;r=lvppb&amp;token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjozNjc1MTU4MywicG9zdF9pZCI6MTc2NjU3OTYzLCJpYXQiOjE3NjA5ODI0ODksImV4cCI6MTc2MzU3NDQ4OSwiaXNzIjoicHViLTI1MTAzNDgiLCJzdWIiOiJwb3N0LXJlYWN0aW9uIn0.hGblx6bZUKl9Qig_x5Ohv3s19veeNa6hX8KyYKpF6hs"
style="color: rgb(54,55,55);text-decoration: none;"
                        moz-do-not-send="true">\u201cWe Estimate That Nearly
                        One Million of Gaza\u2019s 1.1 Million Olive Trees
                        Have Been Destroyed\u201d</a></h1>
                    <h3 class="subtitle subtitle-HEEcLo" dir="auto"
style="direction: auto;text-align: start;unicode-bidi: isolate;font-family: 'SF Pro Display',-apple-system-headline,system-ui,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif,'Apple Color Emoji','Segoe UI Emoji','Segoe UI Symbol';font-weight: normal;-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;-moz-osx-font-smoothing: antialiased;-webkit-appearance: optimizelegibility;-moz-appearance: optimizelegibility;appearance: optimizelegibility;margin: 4px 0 0;color: #777777;line-height: 24px;font-size: 18px;margin-top: 12px;">Gaza\u2019s
                      olive groves have been bulldozed by the Israeli
                      military, dried up from lack of water, or remain
                      inaccessible, leaving Palestinian farmers with
                      little to harvest.</h3>
                    <table class="post-meta" role="presentation"
                      width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0"
                      cellpadding="0"
style="margin: 1em 0;height: 20px;align-items: center;">
                      <tbody>
                        <tr>
                          <td>
                            <table role="presentation" width="auto"
                              border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
                              <tbody>
                                <tr>
                                  <td>
                                    <table role="presentation"
                                      width="auto" border="0"
                                      cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
                                      <tbody>
                                        <tr>
                                          <td
style="vertical-align:middle;">
                                            <div
class="pencraft pc-reset color-primary-zABazT line-height-20-t4M0El font-meta-MWBumP size-11-NuY2Zx weight-medium-fw81nC transform-uppercase-yKDgcq reset-IxiVJZ meta-EgzBVA custom-css-email-post-author"
style="list-style: none;font-size: 11px;line-height: 20px;text-decoration: unset;color: rgb(54,55,55);margin: 0;font-family: 'SF Compact',-apple-system,system-ui,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif,'Apple Color Emoji','Segoe UI Emoji','Segoe UI Symbol';font-weight: 500;text-transform: uppercase;letter-spacing: .2px;"><a
class="pencraft pc-reset color-primary-zABazT line-height-20-t4M0El font-meta-MWBumP size-11-NuY2Zx weight-medium-fw81nC transform-uppercase-yKDgcq reset-IxiVJZ meta-EgzBVA"
style="list-style: none;color: rgb(54,55,55);margin: 0;font-size: 11px;line-height: 20px;font-family: 'SF Compact',-apple-system,system-ui,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif,'Apple Color Emoji','Segoe UI Emoji','Segoe UI Symbol';font-weight: 500;text-transform: uppercase;letter-spacing: .2px;text-decoration: none"
href="https://substack.com/@dropsitenews" moz-do-not-send="true">Drop
                                                Site News</a></div>
                                          </td>
                                        </tr>
                                      </tbody>
                                    </table>
                                  </td>
                                </tr>
                                <tr>
                                  <td>
                                    <table role="presentation"
                                      width="auto" border="0"
                                      cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
                                      <tbody>
                                        <tr>
                                          <td
style="vertical-align:middle;">
                                            <div
class="pencraft pc-reset color-secondary-ls1g8s line-height-20-t4M0El font-meta-MWBumP size-11-NuY2Zx weight-medium-fw81nC transform-uppercase-yKDgcq reset-IxiVJZ meta-EgzBVA"
style="list-style: none;font-size: 11px;line-height: 20px;text-decoration: unset;color: rgb(119,119,119);margin: 0;font-family: 'SF Compact',-apple-system,system-ui,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif,'Apple Color Emoji','Segoe UI Emoji','Segoe UI Symbol';font-weight: 500;text-transform: uppercase;letter-spacing: .2px;"><time
datetime="2025-10-20T17:46:35.298Z">Oct 20, 2025</time></div>
                                          </td>
                                        </tr>
                                      </tbody>
                                    </table>
                                  </td>
                                </tr>
                              </tbody>
                            </table>
                          </td>
                          <td align="right">
                            <table role="presentation" width="auto"
                              border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
                              <tbody>
                                <tr>
                                  <td style="vertical-align:middle;"><a
href="https://substack.com/@dropsitenews" moz-do-not-send="true"><img
class="custom-css-email-avatar avatar-QIQ5yR"
src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fVLV!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc8afbb85-9896-4b37-b11d-021bf3058862_647x647.png"
style="box-sizing: border-box;border-radius: 500000px;max-width: 550px;border: none;vertical-align: middle;width: 40px;height: 40px;min-width: 40px;min-height: 40px;object-fit: cover;margin: 0px;display: inline"
                                        width="40" height="40"
                                        moz-do-not-send="true"></a></td>
                                </tr>
                              </tbody>
                            </table>
                          </td>
                        </tr>
                      </tbody>
                    </table>
                    <table class="email-ufi-2-top" role="presentation"
                      width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0"
                      cellpadding="0"
style="border-top: 1px solid rgb(0,0,0,.1);border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(0,0,0,.1);min-width: 100%;">
                      <tbody>
                        <tr height="16">
                          <td height="16"
                            style="font-size:0px;line-height:0;"> </td>
                        </tr>
                        <tr>
                          <td>
                            <table role="presentation" width="100%"
                              border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
                              <tbody>
                                <tr>
                                  <td>
                                    <table role="presentation"
                                      width="auto" border="0"
                                      cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
                                      <tbody>
                                        <tr>
                                          <td
style="vertical-align:middle;">
                                            <table role="presentation"
                                              width="38" border="0"
                                              cellspacing="0"
                                              cellpadding="0">
                                              <tbody>
                                                <tr>
                                                  <td align="center"><a
class="email-icon-button"
href="https://substack.com/app-link/post?publication_id=2510348&amp;post_id=176657963&amp;utm_source=substack&amp;isFreemail=true&amp;submitLike=true&amp;token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjozNjc1MTU4MywicG9zdF9pZCI6MTc2NjU3OTYzLCJyZWFjdGlvbiI6IuKdpCIsImlhdCI6MTc2MDk4MjQ4OSwiZXhwIjoxNzYzNTc0NDg5LCJpc3MiOiJwdWItMjUxMDM0OCIsInN1YiI6InJlYWN0aW9uIn0._yVNsqVHaMQyekhb15eA-ekzv1dv9x2z7FQDwqoDmWc&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=email-reaction&amp;r=lvppb"
style="font-family: system-ui,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif,'Apple Color Emoji','Segoe UI Emoji','Segoe UI Symbol';display: inline-block;font-weight: 500;border: 1px solid rgb(0,0,0,.1);border-radius: 9999px;text-transform: uppercase;font-size: 12px;line-height: 1;padding: 9px 0;text-decoration: none;color: rgb(119,119,119);min-width: 38px;box-sizing: border-box;width: 38px"
moz-do-not-send="true"><img class="icon"
src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PeVs!,w_36,c_scale,f_png,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack.com%2Ficon%2FLucideHeart%3Fv%3D4%26height%3D36%26fill%3Dnone%26stroke%3D%2523808080%26strokeWidth%3D2"
                                                        width="18"
                                                        height="18"
style="border: none;vertical-align: middle;max-width: 18px" alt=""
moz-do-not-send="true"></a></td>
                                                </tr>
                                              </tbody>
                                            </table>
                                          </td>
                                          <td width="8"
                                            style="min-width: 8px"></td>
                                          <td
style="vertical-align:middle;">
                                            <table role="presentation"
                                              width="38" border="0"
                                              cellspacing="0"
                                              cellpadding="0">
                                              <tbody>
                                                <tr>
                                                  <td align="center"><a
class="email-icon-button"
href="https://substack.com/app-link/post?publication_id=2510348&amp;post_id=176657963&amp;utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;isFreemail=true&amp;comments=true&amp;token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjozNjc1MTU4MywicG9zdF9pZCI6MTc2NjU3OTYzLCJpYXQiOjE3NjA5ODI0ODksImV4cCI6MTc2MzU3NDQ4OSwiaXNzIjoicHViLTI1MTAzNDgiLCJzdWIiOiJwb3N0LXJlYWN0aW9uIn0.hGblx6bZUKl9Qig_x5Ohv3s19veeNa6hX8KyYKpF6hs&amp;r=lvppb&amp;utm_campaign=email-half-magic-comments&amp;action=post-comment&amp;utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email"
style="font-family: system-ui,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif,'Apple Color Emoji','Segoe UI Emoji','Segoe UI Symbol';display: inline-block;font-weight: 500;border: 1px solid rgb(0,0,0,.1);border-radius: 9999px;text-transform: uppercase;font-size: 12px;line-height: 1;padding: 9px 0;text-decoration: none;color: rgb(119,119,119);min-width: 38px;box-sizing: border-box;width: 38px"
moz-do-not-send="true"><img class="icon"
src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!x1tS!,w_36,c_scale,f_png,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack.com%2Ficon%2FLucideComments%3Fv%3D4%26height%3D36%26fill%3Dnone%26stroke%3D%2523808080%26strokeWidth%3D2"
                                                        width="18"
                                                        height="18"
style="border: none;vertical-align: middle;max-width: 18px" alt=""
moz-do-not-send="true"></a></td>
                                                </tr>
                                              </tbody>
                                            </table>
                                          </td>
                                          <td width="8"
                                            style="min-width: 8px"></td>
                                          <td
style="vertical-align:middle;">
                                            <table role="presentation"
                                              width="38" border="0"
                                              cellspacing="0"
                                              cellpadding="0">
                                              <tbody>
                                                <tr>
                                                  <td align="center"><a
class="email-icon-button"
href="https://substack.com/app-link/post?publication_id=2510348&amp;post_id=176657963&amp;utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;utm_campaign=email-share&amp;action=share&amp;triggerShare=true&amp;isFreemail=true&amp;r=lvppb&amp;token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjozNjc1MTU4MywicG9zdF9pZCI6MTc2NjU3OTYzLCJpYXQiOjE3NjA5ODI0ODksImV4cCI6MTc2MzU3NDQ4OSwiaXNzIjoicHViLTI1MTAzNDgiLCJzdWIiOiJwb3N0LXJlYWN0aW9uIn0.hGblx6bZUKl9Qig_x5Ohv3s19veeNa6hX8KyYKpF6hs"
style="font-family: system-ui,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif,'Apple Color Emoji','Segoe UI Emoji','Segoe UI Symbol';display: inline-block;font-weight: 500;border: 1px solid rgb(0,0,0,.1);border-radius: 9999px;text-transform: uppercase;font-size: 12px;line-height: 1;padding: 9px 0;text-decoration: none;color: rgb(119,119,119);min-width: 38px;box-sizing: border-box;width: 38px"
moz-do-not-send="true"><img class="icon"
src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!_L14!,w_36,c_scale,f_png,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack.com%2Ficon%2FLucideShare2%3Fv%3D4%26height%3D36%26fill%3Dnone%26stroke%3D%2523808080%26strokeWidth%3D2"
                                                        width="18"
                                                        height="18"
style="border: none;vertical-align: middle;max-width: 18px" alt=""
moz-do-not-send="true"></a></td>
                                                </tr>
                                              </tbody>
                                            </table>
                                          </td>
                                          <td width="8"
                                            style="min-width: 8px"></td>
                                          <td
style="vertical-align:middle;">
                                            <table role="presentation"
                                              width="38" border="0"
                                              cellspacing="0"
                                              cellpadding="0">
                                              <tbody>
                                                <tr>
                                                  <td align="center"><a
class="email-icon-button"
href="https://substack.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.srPJwV3AgEwKQE5T3LgvWdG0bLQ5d_ret-_aEnF05fY?&amp;utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email"
style="font-family: system-ui,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif,'Apple Color Emoji','Segoe UI Emoji','Segoe UI Symbol';display: inline-block;font-weight: 500;border: 1px solid rgb(0,0,0,.1);border-radius: 9999px;text-transform: uppercase;font-size: 12px;line-height: 1;padding: 9px 0;text-decoration: none;color: rgb(119,119,119);min-width: 38px;box-sizing: border-box;width: 38px"
moz-do-not-send="true"><img class="icon"
src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!5EGt!,w_36,c_scale,f_png,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack.com%2Ficon%2FNoteForwardIcon%3Fv%3D4%26height%3D36%26fill%3Dnone%26stroke%3D%2523808080%26strokeWidth%3D2"
                                                        width="18"
                                                        height="18"
style="border: none;vertical-align: middle;max-width: 18px" alt=""
moz-do-not-send="true"></a></td>
                                                </tr>
                                              </tbody>
                                            </table>
                                          </td>
                                        </tr>
                                      </tbody>
                                    </table>
                                  </td>
                                  <td align="right">
                                    <table role="presentation"
                                      width="auto" border="0"
                                      cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
                                      <tbody>
                                        <tr>
                                          <td
style="vertical-align:middle;">
                                            <table role="presentation"
                                              width="auto" border="0"
                                              cellspacing="0"
                                              cellpadding="0">
                                              <tbody>
                                                <tr>
                                                  <td align="center"><a
class="email-button-outline"
href="https://open.substack.com/pub/dropsitenews/p/gaza-olive-groves-oil-farmers-israel-war?utm_source=email&amp;redirect=app-store&amp;utm_campaign=email-read-in-app"
style="font-family: system-ui,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif,'Apple Color Emoji','Segoe UI Emoji','Segoe UI Symbol';display: inline-block;font-weight: 500;border: 1px solid rgb(0,0,0,.1);border-radius: 9999px;text-transform: uppercase;font-size: 12px;line-height: 12px;padding: 9px 14px;text-decoration: none;color: rgb(119,119,119);"
moz-do-not-send="true">
                                                      <div
class="email-button-spacer"
style="font-size: 16px;line-height: 26px;display: inline-block;vertical-align: middle;max-width: 0;min-height: 18px;"></div>
                                                      <span
class="email-button-text"
style="vertical-align: middle;margin-right: 4px">READ IN APP</span><img
class="icon text-icon"
src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ET-_!,w_36,c_scale,f_png,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack.com%2Ficon%2FLucideArrowUpRight%3Fv%3D4%26height%3D36%26fill%3Dnone%26stroke%3D%2523808080%26strokeWidth%3D2"
                                                        width="18"
                                                        height="18"
style="min-width: 18px;min-height: 18px;border: none;vertical-align: middle;margin-right: 0;margin-left: 0;max-width: 18px"
                                                        alt=""
moz-do-not-send="true"></a></td>
                                                </tr>
                                              </tbody>
                                            </table>
                                          </td>
                                        </tr>
                                      </tbody>
                                    </table>
                                  </td>
                                </tr>
                              </tbody>
                            </table>
                          </td>
                        </tr>
                        <tr height="16">
                          <td height="16"
                            style="font-size:0px;line-height:0;"> </td>
                        </tr>
                      </tbody>
                    </table>
                  </div>
                </div>
                <div class="post typography" dir="auto"
style="--image-offset-margin: -120px;padding: 32px 0 0 0;font-size: 16px;line-height: 26px;">
                  <div class="body markup" dir="auto"
style="text-align: initial;font-size: 16px;line-height: 26px;width: 100%;word-break: break-word;margin-bottom: 16px;font-family: 'SF Pro Display', -apple-system, system-ui, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Inter', 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol';font-weight: 400;">
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;margin-top: 0;"><em><span>On
                          Sunday, the first day of the olive harvest in
                          the village of Turmus\u2019ayyer, near Ramallah in
                          the occupied West Bank, a group of Israeli
                          settlers attacked Palestinians farmers and
                          residents in a brutal assault that left many
                          people injured, including a Palestinian women
                          who was knocked unconscious with a club. The
                          incident was </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/15c65791-2ead-4b85-aa4a-763eb199039b?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                          rel=""
                          style="color: #00058c;text-decoration: none;"
                          moz-do-not-send="true">captured on video</a><span>
                          by journalist Jasper Nathaniel who said
                          Israeli soldiers in the area led a group of
                          Palestinian famers \u201cdirectly into a brutal
                          ambush by armed settlers.\u201d</span></em></p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><em><span>Drop
                          Site spoke to Nathaniel about what happened.
                          You can listen to the interview </span><strong><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/1e5a8cbc-365d-41ec-8fb2-d5b08a8424d3?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                            rel=""
style="color: #00058c;text-decoration: none;" moz-do-not-send="true">here</a></strong><span>.</span></em></p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><em>In
                        Gaza, Palestinian farmers are missing their
                        third consecutive olive harvest as Israel\u2019s war
                        on the enclave has all but decimated Gaza\u2019s
                        olive groves. Gaza-based journalist Mohamed
                        Suleiman spoke to olive farmers and agricultural
                        experts to report on the state of olives and the
                        olive oil industry in Gaza two years into the
                        war and as a fragile \u201cceasefire\u201d has taken hold.</em></p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><em><span>We
                          have a commitment to ensuring that our
                          journalism is not locked behind a paywall. But
                          the only way we can sustain this is through
                          the voluntary support of our community of
                          readers. If you are a free subscriber and you
                          support our work, please consider upgrading to
                          a </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/80973c0c-3390-42aa-98e9-46d1af9b5e1c?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                          rel=""
                          style="color: #00058c;text-decoration: none;"
                          moz-do-not-send="true">paid subscription</a><span>
                          or </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/70766675-0e40-4530-b1ab-e69106671213?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                          rel=""
                          style="color: #00058c;text-decoration: none;"
                          moz-do-not-send="true">gifting one</a><span>
                          to a friend or family member.</span></em></p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><em>\u2014
                        Sharif Abdel Kouddous</em></p>
                    <div class="captioned-image-container-static"
style="font-size: 16px;line-height: 26px;margin: 32px auto;">
                      <figure style="width: 100%;margin: 0 auto;"><a
                          class="image-link" target="_blank"
href="https://substack.com/redirect/8d6f11b2-551b-47e7-94f5-94fa9935dfb4?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                          rel=""
style="position: relative;flex-direction: column;align-items: center;padding: 0;margin: 0 auto;width: auto;height: auto;border: none;text-decoration: none;display: block;"
                          moz-do-not-send="true"><br>
                          <img
src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!U7Ck!,w_1100,h_1100,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff63d0bf5-2c69-4fac-bd0b-db9bdb21978a_1280x720.jpeg"
data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/f63d0bf5-2c69-4fac-bd0b-db9bdb21978a_1280x720.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:false,&quot;imageSize&quot;:&quot;full&quot;,&quot;height&quot;:720,&quot;width&quot;:1280,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:161713,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.dropsitenews.com/i/176657963?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff63d0bf5-2c69-4fac-bd0b-db9bdb21978a_1280x720.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:&quot;center&quot;,&quot;offset&quot;:false}"
                            alt="" height="720" width="1280"
style="border: none !important;vertical-align: middle;display: block;-ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic;height: auto;margin-bottom: 0;max-width: 100% !important;margin: 0 auto;width: 100%;"
                            moz-do-not-send="true"></a><figcaption
                          class="image-caption"
style="box-sizing: content-box;color: #777777;font-size: 14px;line-height: 20px;font-weight: 400;letter-spacing: -.15px;margin-top: 8px;width: 70%;padding-left: 15%;padding-right: 15%;text-align: center;">The
                          Abu Zidan olive press in central Gaza, one of
                          the few olive presses still functioning in the
                          enclave. October 9, 2025. (Photo by Mohamed
                          Suleiman.)</figcaption></figure>
                    </div>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><em>Story
                        by Mohamed Suleiman</em></p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">AL-MAWASI
                      KHAN YOUNIS, GAZA STRIP\u2014The last time Hajj
                      Suleiman Abdel-Nabi witnessed a normal olive
                      harvest was three years ago.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Days
                      before the \u201cceasefire\u201d went into effect on October
                      10, the 75-year-old farmer took a saw to what
                      remains of his three-dunam (about three quarters
                      of an acre) olive farm in southern Gaza\u2019s
                      Al-Mawasi area. Alongside the massive destruction
                      of homes and civilian infrastructure wrought by
                      Israel\u2019s two-year war on Gaza, the toll on
                      agriculture and farmland in the enclave has been
                      equally devastating. With Gaza\u2019s water resources
                      severely depleted, half of Abdel-Nabi\u2019s olive
                      trees have dried up and died.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">\u201cWater
                      became more precious than gold,\u201d he says. \u201cHow can
                      I ask for water for trees when people are dying of
                      thirst?\u201d</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Israel\u2019s
                      war on Gaza that began in October 2023\u2014at the
                      height of the olive harvest\u2014all but stopped in the
                      same season with last week\u2019s \u201cceasefire.\u201d Over the
                      past two years, nearly 68,000 Palestinians have
                      been confirmed killed, in what is widely
                      acknowledged to be a vast undercount, and entire
                      cities and towns have been reduced to rubble.
                      Israel\u2019s siege and starvation campaign triggered a
                      famine across much of the enclave. Despite the
                      genocidal assault that devastated their crops and
                      sent costs skyrocketing, Palestinian farmers in
                      Gaza were still preparing for the olive harvest,
                      even though there are barely any olives left to
                      pick.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">\u201cThe
                      olive trees have become firewood now,\u201d he said
                      bitterly. \u201cI feel pain with every cut\u2014not just for
                      the loss, but because these trees are life itself.
                      For Palestinians, they are a symbol of
                      steadfastness. When they die, it feels like
                      another disaster.\u201d</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Abdel-Nabi\u2019s
                      son, also named Suleiman, helped his father cut
                      the dead tree trunks, hoping to save the few trees
                      that still showed faint signs of life. A
                      neighboring farmer recently installed a
                      solar-powered well\u2014one of the only ways to draw
                      groundwater after Gaza\u2019s power grid was targeted
                      in the first days of the war\u2014and Abdel-Nabi hoped
                      to borrow some water to revive whatever trees he
                      could.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>An
                        August </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/40473496-384c-436c-ac2d-c2a1447812e0?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                        rel=""
                        style="color: #00058c;text-decoration: none;"
                        moz-do-not-send="true">assessment</a><span>,
                        based on satellite data from the Food and
                        Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
                        and the United Nations Satellite Centre, found
                        that 98.5 percent of cropland in the Gaza Strip
                        is either damaged, inaccessible, or both. \u201cThis
                        means that only 1.5 percent of cropland in
                        Gaza\u2014232 hectares\u2014is currently available for
                        cultivation, down from 4.6 percent (688
                        hectares) as of April 2025, in a territory with
                        over 2 million people,\u201d the report said.</span></p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">\u201cMost
                      of the trees are gone,\u201d Mohammed Abu Odeh, an
                      agricultural expert in the horticulture sector,
                      told Drop Site. \u201cBut some farmers are risking
                      their lives to pick what remains.\u201d</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">\u201cThe
                      olive harvest is central to life in Gaza,\u201d he
                      added. \u201cMore than 10,000 families depend on it,
                      and olive oil is part of every meal. But with
                      production collapsing and aid restricted, even a
                      few liters of oil have become treasures.\u201d Today, a
                      single liter of olive oil sells for about 100
                      shekels (about $30)\u2014nearly double last year\u2019s
                      price. \u201cIt\u2019s almost impossible to find,\u201d Abu Odeh
                      said.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Abdel-Nabi,
                      a father of 12 children and grandfather of 35,
                      used to harvest more than 35 gallons of olive oil
                      each year\u2014about half from Al-Mawasi and half from
                      two dunams (about half an acre) of century-old
                      trees in Khan Younis. The trees in Al-Mawasi have
                      not been irrigated or fertilized since the
                      beginning war, leaving all the trees dry and dead,
                      save for a handful he is trying to revive. In Khan
                      Younis, the Israeli military bulldozed his entire
                      orchard.</p>
                    <div class="captioned-image-container-static"
style="font-size: 16px;line-height: 26px;margin: 32px auto;">
                      <figure style="width: 100%;margin: 0 auto;">
                        <table class="image-wrapper" width="100%"
                          border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
                          data-component-name="Image2ToDOMStatic"
                          style="mso-padding-alt: 1em 0 1.6em;">
                          <tbody>
                            <tr>
                              <td style="text-align: center;"></td>
                              <td class="content" align="left"
                                width="1280" style="text-align: center;"><a
                                  class="image-link" target="_blank"
href="https://substack.com/redirect/95bb9023-b722-420f-a484-5a18f021e4c7?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                                  rel=""
style="position: relative;flex-direction: column;align-items: center;padding: 0;width: auto;height: auto;border: none;text-decoration: none;display: block;margin: 0;"
                                  moz-do-not-send="true"><img
                                    class="wide-image"
data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/dea35c4c-56e7-4fd3-9fee-35930739ca17_1280x720.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:720,&quot;width&quot;:1280,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:206874,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.dropsitenews.com/i/176657963?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdea35c4c-56e7-4fd3-9fee-35930739ca17_1280x720.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}"
                                    alt="" width="550" height="309.375"
src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Q7B7!,w_1100,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdea35c4c-56e7-4fd3-9fee-35930739ca17_1280x720.jpeg"
style="border: none !important;vertical-align: middle;display: block;-ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic;height: auto;margin-bottom: 0;width: auto !important;max-width: 100% !important;margin: 0 auto;"
                                    moz-do-not-send="true"></a></td>
                              <td style="text-align: center;"></td>
                            </tr>
                          </tbody>
                        </table>
                        <figcaption class="image-caption"
style="box-sizing: content-box;color: #777777;font-size: 14px;line-height: 20px;font-weight: 400;letter-spacing: -.15px;margin-top: 8px;width: 70%;padding-left: 15%;padding-right: 15%;text-align: center;">Hajj
                          Suleiman Abdel-Nabi\u2019s olive farm in Al-Mawasi,
                          Khan Younis, has gone dry from a lack of water
                          as a result of the war. October 9, 2025.
                          (Photo by Mohamed Suleiman.)</figcaption></figure>
                    </div>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">With
                      no harvest, Abdel-Nabi now has to buy olives and
                      olive oil instead of selling them. \u201cThis year, I
                      buy the same olives and oil I once sold,\u201d he says.
                      \u201cI used to sell a kilo of olives for two
                      dollars\u2014now I buy them for ten. A liter of olive
                      oil that once cost $10 now costs for $25.\u201d</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">He
                      wipes away tears as he looks over the stumps. \u201cThe
                      olive season was our happiest time of year,\u201d he
                      said. \u201cWe would gather to pick, sing, and eat
                      together. Now that joy is gone\u2014like everything
                      else this war has taken.\u201d</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">In
                      central Gaza, 21-year-old Ahmed al-Adini arrived
                      at a small olive press on Salah al-Din Road.
                      Al-Adini is recently married and his wife is
                      expecting their first child this month. His olive
                      harvest barely yielded 170 kilograms this season,
                      down from an average of a ton before the war.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">With
                      the help of his father and brothers, he carried
                      sacks of olives by donkey cart to the press. \u201cWe
                      could hardly water the trees,\u201d he said. \u201cThe land
                      was next to Israeli tank positions for months.\u201d</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Still,
                      the family has insisted on harvesting its crops.
                      \u201cFor my father, it\u2019s not just oil\u2014it\u2019s identity,\u201d
                      Ahmed said. \u201cWe want to taste oil from our own
                      trees, not from somewhere we don\u2019t trust. The
                      olive tree tells us we are still alive.\u201d</p>
                    <h3 class="header-anchor-post"
style="position: relative;font-family: 'SF Pro Display',-apple-system-headline,system-ui,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif,'Apple Color Emoji','Segoe UI Emoji','Segoe UI Symbol';font-weight: bold;-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;-moz-osx-font-smoothing: antialiased;-webkit-appearance: optimizelegibility;-moz-appearance: optimizelegibility;appearance: optimizelegibility;margin: 1em 0 0.625em 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 1.16em;font-size: 1.375em;"><strong>A
                        Symbol of Steadfastness</strong></h3>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">For
                      Palestinians, the olive tree is more than just a
                      crop; it\u2019s a cultural anchor, passed down through
                      generations and woven into memory and resistance.
                      Trapped in a suffocating Israeli siege since 2007,
                      Palestinians in Gaza have long relied on local
                      agriculture as one of the few ways to survive.
                      Now, even that has been stripped away.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">At
                      another press, 43-year-old Mohammed Abu Jleidan
                      arrived by bicycle, pushing a small cart with his
                      two sons: 13-year-old Yusuf and 14-year-old
                      Mo\u2019tasem. They brought 270 kilograms of olives
                      from three dunams of land (about three quarters of
                      an acre) that once yielded two tons.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">\u201cGiven
                      everything\u2014no water, no fertilizer, no care\u2014this
                      small harvest is a blessing,\u201d Abu Jleidan told
                      Drop Site. \u201cMany farmers have lost everything.
                      Their trees dried or were bulldozed. I\u2019m lucky to
                      have even this.\u201d</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">The
                      cost of pressing oil has multiplied. Before the
                      war, it cost less than half a shekel per kilo.
                      Today, it costs three shekels (about $0.9), driven
                      by soaring prices of diesel, spare parts, and
                      labor.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">\u201cFuel
                      costs $25 a liter now; it used to be less than
                      two,\u201d said Zidan Fawaz Zidan, 54, who owns one of
                      the few presses still running in central Gaza. \u201cWe
                      used to process 150 tons of olives a day. Now it\u2019s
                      barely five tons every two days.\u201d</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">More
                      than 35 presses have been destroyed across Gaza
                      over the past two years. Only five remain
                      operational, all of them in the central region.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">According
                      to Fayyad Fayyad, the head of the Palestinian
                      Olive Council, Gaza\u2019s olive sector is \u201calmost
                      completely destroyed.\u201d</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">\u201cThere
                      is no olive season this year,\u201d Fayyad told Drop
                      Site. \u201cWe estimate that nearly one million of
                      Gaza\u2019s 1.1 million olive trees have been
                      destroyed.\u201d In 2022, Gaza produced about 50,000
                      tons of olives. This year, Fayyad said, the total
                      will be well under a thousand. \u201cThe destruction is
                      deliberate,\u201d he said. \u201cIsrael aims to eliminate
                      the agricultural sector, including olives. What
                      remains are scattered trees\u2014not groves, not
                      production.\u201d</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Fayyad\u2019s
                      olive council is preparing a plan to rebuild the
                      olive sector if the ceasefire holds and the war
                      ends\u2014beginning with soil testing to detect
                      contamination from munitions and rebuilding
                      irrigation networks. The government of Tunisia has
                      pledged 180,000 olive saplings to Gaza once
                      conditions allow.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">But
                      replanting will take years. \u201cThe olive tree is
                      slow to grow,\u201d Fayyad says. \u201cIt takes patience\u2014and
                      peace\u2014for it to bear fruit again.\u201d</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Despite
                      the devastation, Gaza\u2019s farmers are returning to
                      their olive groves\u2014to water, to prune, to salvage
                      whatever life remains.</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">\u201cThe
                      olive tree is the story of Palestine,\u201d Abdel-Nabi
                      said. \u201cEven when it burns, it still stands in our
                      hearts.\u201d</p>
                    <p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><em><span>This
                          piece was published in collaboration with </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/0044afde-7162-46f7-a122-b2de052f9738?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
                          rel=""
                          style="color: #00058c;text-decoration: none;"
                          moz-do-not-send="true">Egab</a><span>.</span></em></p>
                  </div>
                </div>
                <table class="email-ufi-2-bottom" role="presentation"
                  width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0"
                  cellpadding="0"
style="border-top: 1px solid rgb(0,0,0,.1);border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(0,0,0,.1);min-width: 100%;">
                  <tbody>
                    <tr height="16">
                      <td height="16"
                        style="font-size:0px;line-height:0;"><br>
                      </td>
                    </tr>
                    <tr>
                      <td>
                        <table role="presentation" width="100%"
                          border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
                          <tbody>
                            <tr>
                              <td>
                                <table role="presentation" width="auto"
                                  border="0" cellspacing="0"
                                  cellpadding="0" style="margin:0 auto;">
                                  <tbody>
                                    <tr>
                                      <td style="vertical-align:middle;">
                                        <table role="presentation"
                                          width="auto" border="0"
                                          cellspacing="0"
                                          cellpadding="0">
                                          <tbody>
                                            <tr>
                                              <td align="center"><a
class="email-button-outline"
href="https://substack.com/app-link/post?publication_id=2510348&amp;post_id=176657963&amp;utm_source=substack&amp;isFreemail=true&amp;submitLike=true&amp;token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjozNjc1MTU4MywicG9zdF9pZCI6MTc2NjU3OTYzLCJyZWFjdGlvbiI6IuKdpCIsImlhdCI6MTc2MDk4MjQ4OSwiZXhwIjoxNzYzNTc0NDg5LCJpc3MiOiJwdWItMjUxMDM0OCIsInN1YiI6InJlYWN0aW9uIn0._yVNsqVHaMQyekhb15eA-ekzv1dv9x2z7FQDwqoDmWc&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=email-reaction&amp;r=lvppb"
style="font-family: system-ui,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif,'Apple Color Emoji','Segoe UI Emoji','Segoe UI Symbol';display: inline-block;font-weight: 500;border: 1px solid rgb(0,0,0,.1);border-radius: 9999px;text-transform: uppercase;font-size: 12px;line-height: 12px;padding: 9px 14px;text-decoration: none;color: rgb(119,119,119);"
                                                  moz-do-not-send="true"><img
                                                    class="icon"
src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PeVs!,w_36,c_scale,f_png,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack.com%2Ficon%2FLucideHeart%3Fv%3D4%26height%3D36%26fill%3Dnone%26stroke%3D%2523808080%26strokeWidth%3D2"
                                                    width="18"
                                                    height="18"
style="margin-right: 8px;min-width: 18px;min-height: 18px;border: none;vertical-align: middle;max-width: 18px"
                                                    alt=""
moz-do-not-send="true"><span class="email-button-text"
style="vertical-align: middle;">Like</span></a></td>
                                            </tr>
                                          </tbody>
                                        </table>
                                      </td>
                                      <td width="8"
                                        style="min-width: 8px"></td>
                                      <td style="vertical-align:middle;">
                                        <table role="presentation"
                                          width="auto" border="0"
                                          cellspacing="0"
                                          cellpadding="0">
                                          <tbody>
                                            <tr>
                                              <td align="center"><a
class="email-button-outline"
href="https://substack.com/app-link/post?publication_id=2510348&amp;post_id=176657963&amp;utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;isFreemail=true&amp;comments=true&amp;token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjozNjc1MTU4MywicG9zdF9pZCI6MTc2NjU3OTYzLCJpYXQiOjE3NjA5ODI0ODksImV4cCI6MTc2MzU3NDQ4OSwiaXNzIjoicHViLTI1MTAzNDgiLCJzdWIiOiJwb3N0LXJlYWN0aW9uIn0.hGblx6bZUKl9Qig_x5Ohv3s19veeNa6hX8KyYKpF6hs&amp;r=lvppb&amp;utm_campaign=email-half-magic-comments&amp;action=post-comment&amp;utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email"
style="font-family: system-ui,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif,'Apple Color Emoji','Segoe UI Emoji','Segoe UI Symbol';display: inline-block;font-weight: 500;border: 1px solid rgb(0,0,0,.1);border-radius: 9999px;text-transform: uppercase;font-size: 12px;line-height: 12px;padding: 9px 14px;text-decoration: none;color: rgb(119,119,119);"
                                                  moz-do-not-send="true"><img
                                                    class="icon"
src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!x1tS!,w_36,c_scale,f_png,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack.com%2Ficon%2FLucideComments%3Fv%3D4%26height%3D36%26fill%3Dnone%26stroke%3D%2523808080%26strokeWidth%3D2"
                                                    width="18"
                                                    height="18"
style="margin-right: 8px;min-width: 18px;min-height: 18px;border: none;vertical-align: middle;max-width: 18px"
                                                    alt=""
moz-do-not-send="true"><span class="email-button-text"
style="vertical-align: middle;">Comment</span></a></td>
                                            </tr>
                                          </tbody>
                                        </table>
                                      </td>
                                      <td width="8"
                                        style="min-width: 8px"></td>
                                      <td style="vertical-align:middle;">
                                        <table role="presentation"
                                          width="auto" border="0"
                                          cellspacing="0"
                                          cellpadding="0">
                                          <tbody>
                                            <tr>
                                              <td align="center"><a
class="email-button-outline"
href="https://substack.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.srPJwV3AgEwKQE5T3LgvWdG0bLQ5d_ret-_aEnF05fY?&amp;utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email"
style="font-family: system-ui,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif,'Apple Color Emoji','Segoe UI Emoji','Segoe UI Symbol';display: inline-block;font-weight: 500;border: 1px solid rgb(0,0,0,.1);border-radius: 9999px;text-transform: uppercase;font-size: 12px;line-height: 12px;padding: 9px 14px;text-decoration: none;color: rgb(119,119,119);"
                                                  moz-do-not-send="true"><img
                                                    class="icon"
src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!5EGt!,w_36,c_scale,f_png,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack.com%2Ficon%2FNoteForwardIcon%3Fv%3D4%26height%3D36%26fill%3Dnone%26stroke%3D%2523808080%26strokeWidth%3D2"
                                                    width="18"
                                                    height="18"
style="margin-right: 8px;min-width: 18px;min-height: 18px;border: none;vertical-align: middle;max-width: 18px"
                                                    alt=""
moz-do-not-send="true"><span class="email-button-text"
style="vertical-align: middle;">Restack</span></a></td>
                                            </tr>
                                          </tbody>
                                        </table>
                                      </td>
                                    </tr>
                                  </tbody>
                                </table>
                              </td>
                              <td align="right">
                                <table role="presentation" width="auto"
                                  border="0" cellspacing="0"
                                  cellpadding="0">
                                  <tbody>
                                    <tr>
                                    </tr>
                                  </tbody>
                                </table>
                              </td>
                            </tr>
                          </tbody>
                        </table>
                      </td>
                    </tr>
                    <tr height="16">
                      <td height="16"
                        style="font-size:0px;line-height:0;"> </td>
                    </tr>
                  </tbody>
                </table>
                <div class="footer footer-ZM59BM"
style="color: rgb(119,119,119);text-align: center;font-size: 16px;line-height: 26px;padding: 24px0;">
                  <div
style="font-size: 16px;line-height: 26px;padding-bottom: 24px">
                    <p
class="pencraft pc-reset color-secondary-ls1g8s size-12-mmZ61m reset-IxiVJZ small meta-B2bqa5"
style="list-style: none;font-family: system-ui,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif,'Apple Color Emoji','Segoe UI Emoji','Segoe UI Symbol';padding-bottom: 0;font-size: 12px;line-height: 16px;margin: 0;color: rgb(119,119,119);text-decoration: unset;">©
                      2025 <span>Drop Site News, Inc.</span><br>
                      Drop Site News Inc., 1930 18th St NW<br>
                      Ste B2 #1034, Washington, DC 20009 </p>
                  </div>
                </div>
              </div>
            </td>
            <td><br>
            </td>
          </tr>
        </tbody>
      </table>
    </div>
  </body>
</html>