Gazans using 100-year-old stoves to cook amid severe fuel shortage
3 Min Read
Ibrahim Shouman told AFP Rafah that people are bringing their old stoves for repair at his workshop due to the severe lack of gas and fuel.
-
Motor oil and home heating oil are used to start up the brass stoves amid shortages of kerosene in Gaza (AFP)
Old brass stoves are being refurbished in Gaza after the brutal Israeli siege on the strip and a desperate shortage of fuel and gas has left no other option for Palestinians.
Ibrahim Shouman told AFP Rafah that people are bringing their old stoves for repair at his workshop due to the severe lack of gas and fuel.
Thousands of Palestinians have left northern Gaza as a result of "Israel's" unrelenting shelling, ground assault and genocide, leaving their valuables behind.
Last week, the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) confirmed that almost 1.9 million people, approximately 80% of the population, have been displaced in Gaza since October 7.
The statement added that as of December 2, the number of UNRWA staffers killed since the start of the war on Gaza has reached 111.
Shouman told AFP that "People have been searching all over for firewood, but it's no longer available."
Clients wait calmly in his workshop while he rubs, twists, and adjusts pieces of decades-old stove pistons, burners, and fuel tanks.
Adnan Abu al-Aish, 55, explained that "this is how far we've regressed," detailing how the stoves were used 100 years ago. Shouman powers the stoves with a mixture of motor oil and home heating oil because kerosene is scarce.
"There isn't even firewood, people are searching for pieces of cardboard thrown on the ground."
Mohammed al-Malahi, another client, told AFP that the stove he brought was used by his great-grandfather. "What can we do? We need it to create fire and cook."
Global strike in solidarity with Gaza
A strike in solidarity with Gaza began on Monday morning, encompassing many countries around the world in condemnation of the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Strip which has persisted for 66 days, resulting in the deaths of approximately 18,000, 70% of whom are women and children.
#Strike_for_Gaza was the most trending hashtag internationally.
The general strike comes after the United States used its veto power against a Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
During Qatar’s Doha Forum on Sunday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated that the UN Security Council is “paralyzed by geostrategic divisions,” which is impeding an effective solution to stop the bloodshed in Gaza.
The Secretary-General expressed disappointment regarding the UNSC's inability to implement a ceasefire, stating the “UNSC is paralyzed by geopolitical divisions, its credibility undermined by the inability to pass a resolution urging a Gaza ceasefire.”
The head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarani, was also present to urge for an end to the “hell on earth there.”
“By any description, it is the worst situation I have ever seen,” Lazzarini said, adding: “People are coming to the UN to seek protection, but even the blue flag is not protected anymore. By any account, the situation has reached a catastrophic nature”.
