Israeli farmers whose dream of producing tequila was cut short by Hamas's October 7 attack have returned to work along the Gaza border, ploughing fields and sowing seeds to bring their land back to life.

With artillery fire and explosions booming in the distance, businessman Aviel Leitner and farmer Eran Braverman inspected their field of blue agave, hoping they would one day soon produce the country's first-ever batch of tequila.

Planted prior to the war sparked by the unprecedented October 2023 attack on communities in southern Israel, Leitner said the violence and subsequent chaos meant waiting until now to unveil their unique project.

"We wanted to very much show that Israeli farmers had returned to the fields, that this war wasn't going to stop them, that there were new crops growing in the Negev and that there is nothing sexier than tequila and mezcal and agave spirits," he told AFP.

Leitner said he was inspired to bring the plants to Israel following a family trip to Mexico.

For him and Braverman, the survival of the exotic........

© Al Monitor