A truckload of strawberries left Gaza on Sunday to launch the season, which is to run through May.

Yousef Shaath of Gaza’s Agricultural Development Association says 250 farmers hope to export 600 tons of strawberries, 350 tons of bell peppers, 160 tons of cherry tomatoes and 17 million carnations. That’s more than double last year’s levels.

Israel tightly controls the flow of goods to and from Gaza in a bid to pressure the militant Hamas.

It relaxed a sweeping land blockade after a deadly raid on a blockade-busting flotilla focused international attention on the embargo.