Gaza Herald _As Gaza’s humanitarian crisis deepens, even the simplest household items have become increasingly difficult to find. Among them are cigarette and cooking lighters—once inexpensive and widely available, now scarce commodities that have become essential for families relying on wood fires to cook meals and boil water.
With supply routes severely disrupted by the ongoing war and blockade, many residents say finding a lighter has become another daily challenge in a territory already facing shortages of food, fuel, and medicine.
An Everyday Item Turns Into a Rare Commodity
Across Gaza’s markets, shoppers search from stall to stall hoping to find a lighter. When one is available, residents say it is often sold in very limited quantities and at prices many times higher than before the war.
Abu Mohammad, who runs a small market stall in the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis, says supplies have completely dried up.
“We haven’t received a single box of lighters in two months,” he says. “Anyone who still has two or three keeps them for emergencies or sells them at much higher prices. People compete to buy them.”
Umm Khaled, from Jabalia refugee camp, says she recently visited several market stalls before finding a single lighter.
“The last one I bought cost 15 shekels,” she says. “Before the war, it was about two shekels. We have no choice but to buy one because we need it for cooking.”
Residents say they now repeatedly repair old lighters, trying to extend their lifespan as long as possible. Others rely on neighbors to help relight cooking fires whenever their own lighter stops working.
Risky Alternatives
With new lighters becoming increasingly difficult to obtain, many families have turned to improvised and sometimes dangerous methods to keep their cooking fires burning.
Some households keep embers alive for hours inside metal containers, while others try to ignite paper or cardboard using makeshift techniques.
Umm Ahmad, who lives in a displacement camp in Al-Mawasi, says maintaining a live ember has become part of her daily routine.
“I keep a burning coal from morning until night inside a metal container,” she says. “I’m afraid to leave it while sleeping, but I don’t have another option. One nearby tent caught fire because of burning paper. Sometimes getting fire feels more dangerous than hunger itself.”
Mahmoud, 24, says he occasionally walks for half an hour just to borrow a small flame from neighbors.
“Sometimes we carry a burning ember home in a small container,” he says. “Getting fire has become harder than finding firewood, especially since almost everyone now depends on wood-burning stoves after cooking gas disappeared.”
A Crisis That Reflects a Larger Humanitarian Emergency
Local merchants say the disappearance of lighters illustrates the depth of Gaza’s humanitarian crisis, where shortages now extend beyond food, medicine, and fuel to include even the most basic household necessities.
Abu Rami Aslim, a trader in Deir al-Balah, says the blockade has affected every aspect of daily life.
“The blockade has cut off everything—large and small,” he says. “Lighters, sewing needles, phone chargers… nothing is getting in. Customers think we’re hiding products, but the reality is that supplies simply aren’t arriving.”
Merchants say prolonged supply disruptions have emptied shelves of many inexpensive everyday items that residents once took for granted, forcing families to improvise as they struggle to meet even the most basic household needs.
Everyday Life Under Blockade
In ordinary circumstances, a lighter is an inexpensive household item that few people think twice about. In Gaza, however, it has become an essential tool for cooking meals, boiling water, and meeting some of the most basic daily needs.
Umm Wasim says the shortage reflects just how dramatically daily life has changed.
“Before the war, we complained about electricity cuts and cooking gas,” she says. “Now we’re searching for a single spark. Imagine reaching a point where you have to look for a spark just to boil water for your children.”
The disappearance of lighters highlights how even the smallest necessities have become difficult to obtain in Gaza, illustrating the far-reaching impact that the war and blockade have had on nearly every aspect of daily life.
