Gaza’s Survival Economy Centers on the Humble Lighter

In the sprawling tent camps of southern Gaza, the disposable cigarette lighter has evolved from a convenience into a critical survival tool. For families like Nisreen Abu Saada’s, who must forage for fuel to cook daily meals, the inability to ignite a fire renders even scarce food supplies useless.

Editorial·July 23, 2026·reads: 1,769

After nearly three years of conflict, the cost of a single lighter has surged to 100 shekels—roughly $32.55. This hyper-inflation has transformed a once-pennies item into a high-value commodity, forcing displaced residents to treat every plastic casing as a long-term investment. The scarcity has birthed an informal repair economy, led by figures like Hassan Abu Latifa, a former agricultural engineer who now spends his days tinkering with broken igniters to keep them functional.

This shift reflects the deeper disintegration of Gaza’s infrastructure, where unemployment has climbed past 80% and poverty has reached near-total saturation. Despite the October ceasefire brokered by the United States, basic humanitarian supplies remain sporadic and politically contested. The trade in repaired lighters serves as a stark metric of the territory’s desperation, highlighting how residents must engineer their own survival in the absence of consistent aid.