Even lighting a fire in Gaza now part of war

Inside a tent, Rabab Deifallah sits holding a small, old lighter tightly. She presses it repeatedly, desperately trying to produce a strong spark to ignite the pile of wood placed inside her stove.

Rabab is a mother of five. She keeps the lighter with great care. Since it became difficult to buy a new lighter, her son has repaired this one several times. Obtaining new lighters has been tough ever since Israel's genocidal war began in Gaza.

For 46‑year‑old Rabab, firewood has now become essential. There is a shortage of gas for cooking, and fuel prices have skyrocketed. In this situation, she uses wood to bake bread, heat water for her children, cook meals, and make tea.

Rabab told Al Jazeera, "Our entire daily life depends on fire. But starting a fire begins with a lighter. And this small item is now the hardest thing to find in Gaza."

Before the war, lighters were so cheap and readily available that she recalls buying three lighters for one shekel (about 33 cents). Now, a new lighter costs between 27 and 33 dollars. And the last time she had her old lighter repaired, it cost her 12 dollars.

She questions, "Should I spend this money on a lighter, or should I buy a sack of flour?"

Palestinians in Gaza prefer to spend their limited money on food. As a result, a single lighter is often shared among several families in nearby tents.

On some days, Rabab cannot find a lighter at all. Then her family has to survive on cold food for days, or they must wait for a neighbour's stove to be lit so they can borrow fire from there.

Often, she sends a piece of cardboard to a neighbour, catches fire from the neighbour's flame, and brings it back. Other times, if a neighbour is baking bread, she asks permission to use that stove to cook for her own family.

She now guards the sole lighter very carefully, because to her, it represents the starting point of fire, food, bread, and hot water.

Another Struggle

Nearby, 43‑year‑old Hasna Mansour faces the same problem, but in a different way.
Hasna, displaced from the Jabalia refugee camp, sits beside a clay stove. She has kept the stove carefully since her family's financial situation worsened during the war. Her husband used to work as a tailor, and the family lived in relative comfort. But now, due to lack of work, Hasna prepares and sells food to help support her six children.

Unable to afford a new lighter, Hasna has also repaired her lighter repeatedly. However, the gas shortage has made the problem even more difficult.

Hasna said, "If there is gas, a small spark is enough to ignite it. But for my stove, I need real fire." She added, "I have been sitting here since morning. Even though it is 10 o'clock, I have not been able to light my stove. I sent my young daughter with a piece of cardboard to look for someone whose stove is burning, but she could not find anyone."

Sanctions and Shortages

The lighter shortage has emerged amid Israel's ongoing siege of Gaza. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has said that restrictions on the movement of goods and the closure of border crossings have led to shortages of essential products and price hikes. OCHA also noted that items classified by Israeli authorities as "dual‑use" face additional difficulties in obtaining approval to enter Gaza.

The Gaza Chamber of Commerce and Industry reported in June that restrictions at border crossings and the arrangements for allowing commercial shipments into Gaza still limit the flow of goods. They said that in the first five months of 2026, more than 30,000 trucks entered Gaza, averaging just over 191 trucks per day – a figure still far below the territory's daily needs.

In an earlier report, the Chamber of Commerce highlighted the spread of lighter repair work during the war, noting that lighters are among the goods facing obstacles to entry into Gaza.

This is why lighters have now become so valuable. Instead of buying a new one, families are spending relatively large sums of money to repair them.

Sharing a Lighter

Displaced father Shadi Abu Shamla lives with his family at the Al‑Karmel School west of Gaza City. For him, the crisis means sharing a single lighter among several tents. He said, "Here, in the whole school... you will not find more than four lighters."

As families try to cook, heat water, or make hot drinks, the few available lighters are passed from one tent to another. In his words, "Today, the lighter is the backbone of life. If you have a lighter in your tent, you are fine. If not, you are stuck."

He pointed out, "Even the most ordinary tasks require fire. You want a cup of tea, you want to cook, you want to prepare milk for a child... you need fire."

Abu Shamla said that sometimes, because they cannot start a fire, his family goes to sleep without dinner.

Repairing lighters has also become difficult. He noted that a flint for a lighter can cost 25 to 30 shekels (8 to 10 dollars). People are also refilling lighters with gas from large cylinders, which sometimes causes burns.
Tamer al‑Shawish, who used to drive before the war, has started repairing lighters to help support his family. Sitting in a small shop near the Al‑Karmel school camp, this 24‑year‑old father of two says that no one would have even heard of his new profession before.

He told Al Jazeera, "The war has forced us into jobs and professions we never knew about before. I started repairing lighters to meet my family's needs."

Tamer explained, "Before the war, no one needed to repair lighters. They were cheap and readily available. When the gas ran out, we would just throw it away and buy another."

He said, "People come to repair lighters because it is cheaper than buying a new one." He collects various parts from broken lighters and uses them to repair others.

Tamer added, "Now even an old lighter has value. We take parts from broken lighters to fix others. This way, they can be used for a longer time."