The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has deepened as Israel’s tightened blockade continues to restrict the entry of essential supplies, including cooking gas, food, and medical aid. For many Palestinians in Gaza, the absence of gas has forced a return to cooking with firewood, a practice that has become a daily struggle amid worsening living conditions.  

Raida Al-Shanshir, a 48-year-old mother, describes the hardship of preparing meals for her family during Ramadan. “This is the second Ramadan where we’ve had to cook over firewood,” she says. “When gas briefly returned during the ceasefire, we thought our suffering would end. But the borders were closed again, and the gas vanished overnight.” Like countless others, Raida now spends hours gathering firewood, cardboard, and plastic to light a fire for cooking and making tea. “I wake up at midnight to prepare suhoor, and I cook iftar just before sunset to keep the food warm. It’s exhausting,” she adds.  

The health toll of this return to firewood is severe. Sabrine Yassin, another Gaza resident, explains how the constant exposure to smoke has left her family struggling with suffocation and coughing. “After 15 months of cooking, washing, and even bathing with firewood, we can’t take it anymore,” she says. The lack of gas is compounded by soaring food prices and shortages, making it even harder for families to survive.  

Subhi Sharir, 50, recalls his shock when the price of gas jumped from $10 to $40 per kilogram overnight. Unable to afford it, he now scours the streets for firewood and plastic to fuel his stove. “Standing in front of a fire for hours while fasting is unbearable,” he says. “We’ve switched to canned foods, but it’s not the same.”  

Before the war, Gaza consumed 300-350 tons of cooking gas daily, supplied by 44 fuel trucks entering the Strip each day. Since the conflict began in October 2023, however, only a handful of gas trucks have been allowed in, meeting less than half of the population’s needs. Samir Hamada, head of the Gas Committee at the Association of Fuel Companies in Gaza, explains that even rationing gas cylinders to 12kg per household has done little to ease the crisis.  

For Palestinians in Gaza, the blockade has turned life into an unrelenting struggle. As the world watches, the call for an end to the siege grows louder, with many describing the restrictions as a form of collective punishment. For now, families continue to endure, hoping for relief from a crisis that shows no signs of abating.