GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Ghazi Hijazi's farm in Rafah, in the northern Gaza Strip, is the last standing rose farm in the besieged enclave. The farm is struggling to survive since local sales have dried up. The Hamas-ruled government in Gaza has imposed a lockdown as part of precautionary measures announced March 22 to prevent the spread of the coronavirus

Flower businesses and other enterprises in Gaza have struggled under Israel's yearslong blockade.

The farm currently covers an area of about 10 dunums (2½ acres). Before Israel banned the export of flowers from the Gaza Strip in 2012, Hijazi's farm extended over 50 dunums and produced around 5,000 flowers per day. Due to the imposed state of emergency, Hijazi, his sons and a group of workers are now destroying the remainder of the farm’s production in a bid to stem losses after the drop in sales.

Currently, 2 dunums are planted with damask roses. Most of the rest of the farm area is planted with white and pink levanta roses. There is also a small area of carnations, calla lilies, gypsophila (baby's breath), child in time lilies and fishmouth (turtlehead), all of which are usually in demand locally. However, before the siege was imposed, only carnations were produced for export, because of their profitability and hardiness to withstand the Israeli-imposed conditions and the delay at border crossings.