Gaza Diaries: A Daily Search for Water and Firewood

Palestinian journalist Yousef Fares reports from Gaza for Al-Akhbar.

After over 90 days of catastrophic war on the Gaza Strip, Gaza residents’ daily struggle is reduced to an endless search for water and firewood. The water supply to homes and shelters has been cut off, and cooking gas has also been completely cut off. Men and children are forced to go out early in the morning in search of firewood.

Ahmed Abu Hamam, a teacher who works for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), told Al-Akhbar, “Our daily lives are reduced to three tasks: We wake up after dawn, spend five hours securing 20 liters of water, then scour the streets and bombed houses in search of wood and firewood. If there is still enough time in the day, we look for a place to charge our phones… and this is a luxury.”

On al-Sikka Street, east of the Jabalia refugee camp, where tank and artillery shells are constantly falling, we met the brothers Sameh and Assem. Despite their frail bodies, they were dragging a cart full of wood. Assem, whose family is staying in one of the UNRWA schools in the Jabalia camp, told us, “We went out in the morning to the streets to collect firewood. Our mother is waiting for it so she can cook at the school.”

“The other day the occupation bombed three young men from our neighborhood while they were collecting firewood,” he added.

Zionists Fail to ‘Cleanse’ Northern Gaza: Resistance Is Hunting the Occupiers

According to local sources, five young men were martyred on January 4 while collecting firewood from an area bulldozed by the occupation in the city of Beit Hanoun, in the far north of the Gaza Strip.

Not far from the brothers Sameh and Assem, we met Khalil Awad and his brothers. They were digging through the rubble of a destroyed house. Their task was to search for the doors and furniture of the house. “This is the last remaining treasure,” Khalil told Al-Akhbar. “We need large quantities of firewood for cooking and heating water. Today, firewood is scarce, and the price per kilo is 7 shekels (2 USD). Due to the cold weather, we are forced to light fires at night to keep warm. So, there is no other option than to dig out remaining furniture from under the rubble.”

Families are not the only ones struggling to obtain firewood. Abu Ibrahim Dahlan is the owner of the only kitchen that is still operating in the northern Gaza Strip. He said that he has been unable to operate the kitchen for several days due to the lack of fuel and firewood. “We are responsible for providing food every day to more than 10 shelters where 100,000 people are staying,” he told Al-Akhbar. “They rely primarily on the rice that we provide. If we do not find a solution to replenish our cooking gas soon, we will face a terrible humanitarian crisis.”

It is worth noting that no cooking gas has entered the northern Gaza Strip for over 90 days. The occupation violated the agreement to supply gas to the north during the six-day ceasefire more than a month ago.

(Al-Akhbar) by Yousef Fares

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

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