In Gaza, a shortage of lighters is making it difficult to prepare meals
In the Gaza Strip, a shortage of lighters is making it difficult to cook, bake bread, and heat water. With a shortage of cooking gas, people are using firewood and stoves, but often cannot get a fire started, according to Al Jazeera English.
Rabab Deifalla, a 46-year-old mother of five, said her son has repaired an old lighter several times because it has become difficult to buy a new one. Before the war, she said, three lighters could be bought for one shekel, or about $0.33. Now a new lighter costs between $27 and $33, and she paid $12 to have the old one repaired.
When they don’t have a lighter, the Deifalla family sometimes eats cold meals for several days or waits for their neighbors to light a fire. She explained that she sometimes sends a piece of cardboard to her neighbors to bring fire back home, or asks to use someone else’s stove to cook.
Read more breaking news on the UA.News Telegram channel.
Hasnaa Mansour, who was forced to leave the Jabalia refugee camp, bakes and sells food to help support her six children. She also repairs her lighter because she can’t afford a new one. According to her, one day she was unable to light her clay oven until 10 a.m., and her daughter couldn’t find anyone who had a fire.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs stated that restrictions on the movement of goods and the closure of checkpoints have contributed to shortages and rising prices for basic necessities in Gaza. The Gaza Chamber of Commerce and Industry reported in June that during the first five months of 2026, more than 30,000 trucks entered Gaza—an average of no more than 191 per day, which is significantly below pre-war daily needs. The Chamber had also previously noted that lighters were among the goods whose import into Gaza was restricted.
Shadi Abu Shamla, a displaced father living with his family at the Al-Karmel School in western Gaza City, said that the entire school has no more than four lighters, which are passed around among the tents. Because of this, his family sometimes goes to bed without dinner. Repairing lighters has become a side job: 24-year-old Tamer al-Shawish fixes them using parts from broken ones.
