Khubeza, the wild plant Palestinians in Gaza are foraging for amid soaring hunger and war

Gathering Khubeza

Nagham Zbeedat reports in Haaretz on 6 March 2024:

Amid the brutal war in Gaza, the majority of residents of the northern Strip have fled their homes, leaving behind a population of about 300,000 grappling with a new and dire challenge: Famine. Israel has prevented aid from reaching the northern part of Gaza, only intensifying the plight of the people who have remained there and managed to survive the bombs and bullets. With essential supplies scarce, they are left with few options to sustain themselves, resorting to consuming rotten food, animal feed and, increasingly, mallow plants.

All Gazans are facing increasingly grim levels of hunger. According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, the entire population is classified as Phase 3 (defined as a situation of crisis or worse). This scale, a tool used in assessing food security levels, points to about half of the population being classified in Phase 4 (an emergency situation) and more than a million people are facing catastrophic hunger in Phase 5. Last Tuesday, deputy director of the World Food Program, Carl Skau, told the United Nations Security Council that “if nothing changes, a famine is imminent in northern Gaza.”

Wheat flour, if found at all, is sold for an exorbitant cost: Usually between 700 and 1,000 shekels a sack – 30 times its regular price. As a substitute, people have resorted to using animal feed. In a video circulating on social media, Gazans can be seen sifting through feed as a donkey does the same. Eating such fare is a desperate measure, but for many it is the only option available. And as disturbing as it sounds to eat animal food, the taste of it is worse, many Gazans report.

Simultaneously, Gazans are taking extraordinary risks to harvest a plant known as the common mallow, a beloved food for Palestinians. Khubeza in Arabic and halamit in Hebrew, the mallow plant grows abundantly from February to April across the region, including in fields and on roadsides and traffic islands.

The plant is almost entirely edible. Its leaves, which resemble grape leaves, can be stuffed and cooked in a similar manner, added to meals, or simply cooked with olive oil and lemon. It is also highly nutritious, being rich in iron, and containing vitamins A and C. It is also believed to have medicinal properties. Dishes like stuffed grape leaves, mulukhiyah (a mucilaginous broth made from jute mallow – distinct from common mallow – and served with rice on the side), and cabbage, once enjoyed before the war, are now being replaced by this readily available and nutritious alternative.

“Mallow is a dish for both rich and poor,” goes a common saying, reflecting its accessibility as a weed that grows abundantly. Traditionally, women and children would venture into fields to harvest the plant, however, the plant is primarily found in border areas, now putting gatherers at high risk of being targeted by Israeli soldiers.

Solidarity across the Strip

Palestinians across Gaza are living the same nightmare, with slight variation, and are expressing solidarity with one another. A young man named Joma’a, from the south, recently took to social media to share a satirical video. In it, Joma’a visits a local store and asks the salesman for bird food, inquiring if it will make him sick. The salesman, with a touch of dark humor, warns him of the potential consequences, “Don’t you say that you’re eating that!” Joma’a then proceeds to bake cookies using the bird food, and upon tasting them, expresses his dislike of the flavor. He resolves to eat them anyway, as a gesture of solidarity with those in northern Gaza. When his younger brother asks about the remaining cookies, Joma’a suggests throwing them onto the streets, saying that birds should show solidarity with the Palestinians living in the north and enduring hardship, too.

Joma’a’s use of dark humor is a powerful tool to raise awareness about the dire hardships many are enduring, often unseen. Through his satirical video, Joma’a highlights the persistence and solidarity of the Palestinian people in the face of unimaginable challenges.

In a heartfelt video, a young Palestinian named Abod, residing in northern Gaza, introduces viewers to the mallow plant, praising it and emphasizing its importance in sustaining Palestinians when other sources of food are scarce. He explains that the plant has provided the vital nutrients and sustenance that others have failed to deliver.

Abod, conveying a message of determination and resourcefulness, also highlights the challenges of attaining mallow, describing the risks involved in foraging for the plant, which include crossing into border areas where Israeli soldiers may be present.

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