Live
Live

In Pictures

To harvest olives, farmers in south Lebanon brave Israeli fire

The escalating exchanges of fire have made olive picking near the border particularly dangerous.

Syrian workers sort freshly harvested olives near the southern Lebanese town of Hasbaya near the border with Israel.
Syrian workers sort freshly harvested olives near the southern Lebanese town of Hasbaya, near the border with Israel. Olive harvesting is a main source of income for villagers, but this year the season has coincided with tit-for-tat cross-border exchanges between Israeli troops and the Iran-backed Hezbollah, as the Israel-Hamas war rages in Gaza. [Joseph Eid/AFP]
By AFP
Published On 6 Nov 2023

Farmer Ghassan Hassan and his labourers have been toiling tirelessly to harvest olives in fields near Lebanon’s southern border, undeterred by nearby Israeli bombings and the whirr of surveillance aircraft.

Olive harvesting is a main source of income for villagers, but this year the season has coincided with tit-for-tat cross-border exchanges between Israeli troops and the Iran-backed Hezbollah as the Israel-Hamas war rages in Gaza. It has been reported that the exchanges have also involved Hamas’s Qassam Brigades and Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s al-Quds Brigades.

“Aircraft hover over our heads day and night while we work, making the workers anxious. They sometimes get so frightened they leave,” said Hassan, in his 50s, who is picking green and purple olives near the town of Hasbaya.

“This year is unlike the ones before,” he added.

As he spoke, one of his workers received news that his village had been hit by a bombardment. Stopping work, he frantically tried to call relatives with trembling hands. When he heard they were all safe, breathing a sigh of relief he returned to work.

Since Hamas fighters stormed across the Gaza border on October 7, killing 1,400 people, Israeli warplanes have been bombarding the Palestinian territory, killing close to 10,000.

The violence has also triggered a wave of unrest along the Israel-Lebanon border.

At least 63 people have been killed in Lebanon, according to an AFP tally, mostly fighters but also five civilians. Eight soldiers and civilians have been killed on the Israeli side of the border.

The escalating exchanges of fire have made olive picking near the border particularly dangerous. But despite the frequent shelling nearby and non-stop buzzing of reconnaissance aircraft, the farmers have not stopped working their land.

Syrian workers sort freshly harvested olives near the southern Lebanese town of Hasbaya near the border with Israel.
Lebanese farmers mostly rely on Syrian labourers during harvest season, but many living near the border have fled. 'It has become difficult for us to find workers,' Hassan said. [Joseph Eid/AFP]
Farmers harvest olives near the southern Lebanese town of Hasbaya near the border with Israel.
So far, thousands have fled the south due to the border tensions, with nearly 29,000 people displaced across Lebanon, figures from the UN's International Organization for Migration show. [Joseph Eid/AFP]
This image shows olive groves near the southern Lebanese town of Hasbaya near the border with Israel.
Israeli attacks have also set olive groves and greenery ablaze. Agriculture Minister Abbas Al Hajj Hassan has accused Israel of carrying out white phosphorus attacks, saying the incendiary substance has burnt down 40,000 olive trees. [Joseph Eid/AFP]
This image shows olive groves near the southern Lebanese town of Hasbaya near the border with Israel.
Rights groups and Lebanese officials have repeatedly accused Israel of using white phosphorus, which catches fire on contact with the air and can inflict serious burns. Israel has previously denied the allegations. [Joseph Eid/AFP]
Farmer Hussein Shaheen harvests olives near the southern Lebanese town of Hasbaya near the border with Israel.
Farmer Hussein Shaheen, in his 70s, outside Hasbaya picking the tiny fruit as explosions resonate in the distance. He has been clear with his workers: They must have the olives packed up and ready for transport so they can move quickly if shelling hits. [Joseph Eid/AFP]
Farmer Hussein Shaheen (L) harvests olives near the southern Lebanese town of Hasbaya near the border with Israel.
'People are risking their lives' because olives are their main source of income, Shaheen said. 'Every year, they await harvesting season so they can sell olive oil and make a living,' he said. 'When bombs fall, they go home' only to return the next day, he added. [Joseph Eid/AFP]
Farmers harvest olives near the southern Lebanese town of Hasbaya near the border with Israel.
In a nearby field, the Shaar family are picking olives together. 'We are not afraid, but the buzzing of aircraft... is playing with our nerves,' said Mona Shaar, 54, smiling as she gathered olives in her apron. [Joseph Eid/AFP]
A woman fills bags with freshly harvested olives near the southern Lebanese town of Hasbaya near the border with Israel.
Across the border regions of Hasbaya and Marjayoun, families and labourers are out and about in the olive groves, resting in the shade or climbing trees to pick the fruit. [Joseph Eid/AFP]
Farmer Adnan al-Sahaar stands in an olive grove as a woman gathers olives during the harvest season near the southern Lebanese town of Hasbaya near the border with Israel.
Adnan, another farmer, said he is used to the sound of explosions, now a regular occurrence in the area. 'I know people who couldn't harvest because they are closer to the border and under bombardment,' he said. 'They left their harvest, their land... It's hard.' [Joseph Eid/AFP]
Workers harvest olives near the southern Lebanese town of Hasbaya near the border with Israel .
'Whether there is bombing or not, people have no choice but to go out to the fields,' said the 73-year-old, a retired teacher who owns an olive press. 'They certainly take risks, but they are forced' to do so to survive, he said.