Despite dangers, Gazans produce charcoal for heating and cooking

Despite the danger, several Palestinian workers rush to the eastern areas of the city of Khan Younis in the south of the war-torn coastal enclave to produce charcoal from tree branches. 

“A few days only separating us from witnessing the harsh winter in Gaza […] most of the families live in temporary tents without having any means of warmth to avoid the cold winter,” Mohammed Abdul Aal, a woodcutter in Khan Younis, told The New Arab. 

So, Abdul Aal, his three sons, and ten other workers decided to produce the charcoal and sell it to the local markets. 

The 55-year-old father of five said he knows his life is dangerous by the Israeli military, “but I can stay idly by and watch our kids, women, and elderly people suffer from the cold weather.” 

“In Gaza, there are no safe places and the Israeli army could kill us even if we stay in our tents, houses, schools or even hospitals, so we have to challenge our internal fears and live our life with our available capabilities,” he said. 

An ancestral profession

For long weeks, Abdul al-Aal with his coworkers focused on collecting tree branches, either from the eastern areas of southern governorates of the coastal enclave, including the cities of Khan Younis and Deir al-Balah as well as the refugee camps of al-Bureij and al-Mughazi. 

“It is not easy to put yourself in a dangerous situation, but we do not have any other chances […] we have to produce the charcoal to sell it and make some money to at least keep our families afloat,” Samid al-Hattab, another Khan Younis-based woodcutter, said to TNA. 

Al-Hattab is a 50-year-old father of four who inherited the charcoal business from his father. It’s an ancestral profession preserved from near extinction after many preferred to leave it due to negative impacts the production has on the health of workers. 

“Currently, it has become more dangerous to our lives, especially in light of the increasing chances of the Israeli army targeting us,” he said. 

The charcoal industry goes through several stages. First, workers cut different types of trees suitable for charcoal production, such citrus fruits, which are the most important in the Gaza Strip, according to al-Hattab. 

In the second stage, the wood is collected, and the workers place them in a hole in the ground, arrange in a pyramid shape so that oxygen does not enter the gaps. Then the wood in the hole is covered by sand and straw.

After that, the pyramid is set on fire, and the burning process continues for several days. During this period, the workers must control the burning process by regularly moistening the pyramid with water. 

When the fire subsides, the workers remove the sand and keep the burning wood exposed for six days, and then they collect the raw charcoal.

“In the past, we considered the manufacturing stage a recreational trip, especially since we were reliving the glories of our ancestors, but now we suffer a lot at every stage,” Ibrahim Jalal, a worked based in Dier al-Balah, remarked to TNA. 

“The entire manufacturing phase is fraught with dangers. If we escape being targeted by the Israeli army in the border areas, we may not be spared from being targeted by the land where we manufacture, especially when burning wood, which leaves large columns of smoke, which the army may think we are resistance fighters,” he noted.

What increases the concern of the coal industry workers is the potentiality of thieves stealing the coal, in addition to the danger from the Israeli army.

“Everything is dangerous and terrifying, but we are determined to continue our work even if we lose everything. We do not have the luxury of thinking, planning, or even choosing,” Jalal lamented.

Resorting to charcoal 

Before the war, there was only one coal factory in the Gaza Strip that produced at least 90 tons of coal annually, covering about 50 per cent of the needs of the local population, while the rest was imported from abroad.

Presently, dozens of workers can only produce about three tons because there is no wood or trees to collect the firewood since the Israeli army has bombed everything. The only trees left unburned by Israeli attacks have already been cut down by the residents to light fires for food.

Since 7 October 2023, the Israeli army has been launching a large-scale bloody war on the coastal enclave, home to more than 2.3 million people. Israel’s ongoing war has deliberately destroyed most of the Gaza houses and forced more than 1.9 million people to be displaced.

Meanwhile, Israel has closed the crossings to Gaza and prevented the entry of goods and basic commodities, and imposed restrictions on the entry of humanitarian and relief aid. 

These dynamics have forced Palestinians to use charcoal as an alternative to cooking gas or for heating in the cold weather within shelters and displacement tents, despite the health risks associated with its continued use.

Nevertheless, buying charcoal is unaffordable for many Palestinians in Gaza in light of the deteriorating economic and living conditions and the lack of cash liquidity.

Before the war, one kilogram of charcoal was sold for US $1.5; now it costs about US $7.