A Cheap Lighter Is Now One of Gaza's Most Precious Items

GAZA CITY – Rabab Deifallah, 46, a mother of five, sat in her tent clutching an old, worn-out lighter. She clicked it once, then again, trying to summon a spark strong enough to ignite the wood in her stove. Her son has repeatedly repaired this lighter since Israel began its military campaign in Gaza in October 2023.

Wood has become essential for Rabab. She uses it to bake bread, boil water for her children, prepare meals, and brew tea amid a shortage of cooking gas and soaring fuel prices.

“Our entire daily life depends on fire. But to get fire, you need a lighter, and this tiny object has become one of the hardest things to find in Gaza,” she told Al Jazeera.

Before the war, lighters were so cheap and easy to buy that she recalls purchasing three for 1 shekel (about $0.33). Now, a new lighter costs between $27 and $33. Rabab recently spent $12 to repair her old one.

“Should I spend that money on a lighter or buy a bag of flour?” she asked.

Many Palestinians in Gaza prefer to spend their money on food, so a single lighter is often shared among several families across multiple tents. On days when Rabab cannot find a lighter, her family eats cold meals for days on end or waits for a neighbor to start a fire to beg for a spark.

She often takes a piece of cardboard to a neighbor’s tent to bring back fire. Sometimes, if a neighbor is baking bread, she asks to use their oven to cook. For her, the lighter is the beginning of fire, food, bread, and hot water.

Second Struggle

Hasnaa Mansour, 43, displaced from Jabalia refugee camp, faces a similar problem. Her husband was formerly a tailor, and the family lived comfortably, but now she bakes bread to sell and support her six children. She has repaired lighters herself many times because she cannot afford a new one.

The cooking gas shortage makes things worse. “With gas, just a small spark is enough. But with a mud stove, I need a real fire,” she said. “I sit from morning until 10 o'clock and still can't light the stove. I send my little daughter with a piece of cardboard to find a house with fire, but she can't find anyone.”

Restrictions and Scarcity

The lighter shortage comes as Israel continues its siege on Gaza. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says restrictions on the movement of goods and the closure of crossings have contributed to shortages and price hikes for essential items. Goods Israel classifies as “dual-use” face additional hurdles when seeking entry into Gaza.

The Gaza Chamber of Commerce and Industry said in June that restrictions at crossings continued to limit the flow of goods. More than 30,000 trucks entered Gaza in the first five months of 2026, averaging no more than 191 trucks per day – far below pre-war needs.

According to chamber documents, the lighter repair trade emerged during the war, as lighters were among the items barred from entering Gaza. As a result, lighters became precious, and families spend relatively large sums to repair them rather than buy new ones.

Sharing a Single Lighter

Shadi Abu Shamlah, a displaced father living with his family at Al-Karmel school in western Gaza City, says there are no more than four lighters in the entire school. Those few lighters are passed from tent to tent for cooking, boiling water, or preparing hot drinks.

“A lighter today is the backbone of life. If your tent has a lighter, you're fine. If not, you're stuck,” he said. “The simplest things need fire. You want tea, cooking, milk for your kids – you need fire.”

His family sometimes goes to bed without dinner because they cannot start a fire. Repairing lighters is also difficult: a single flint costs 25–30 shekels ($8–$10). Many people refill lighters with gas from larger cylinders, sometimes causing burns.

Tamer Al-Shawish, 24, a former driver before the war, has turned to fixing lighters to make a living. He set up a small stall near Al-Karmel school. “The war forced us into jobs we never knew. I started repairing lighters to take care of my family,” he said.

“Before the war, no one needed to fix a lighter. They were cheap and available. When they ran out, we threw them away and bought new ones. Now people come to repair because it's cheaper than buying new, especially with high prices and scarce goods.”

Al-Shawish salvages parts from broken lighters to repair others. “Even old lighters now have value. We take parts from broken ones to fix others, making them last longer.”