Gaza Families Forced to Cook over Wood as Fuel Blockade Creates Toxic Smoke Crisis
A near-total collapse of cooking gas supply in Gaza has forced families to burn wood, plastic, and refuse to cook their meals, exposing mothers and young children to toxic smoke in conditions that humanitarian organizations describe as a compounding public health catastrophe.
Al Jazeera correspondents documented the situation on March 12, with families describing daily life "covered in soot", lungs burning, eyes watering, and children suffering from respiratory symptoms as open fires and makeshift stoves fill enclosed spaces with dangerous particulates.
A Preventable Crisis
Cooking gas shortages in Gaza are not new, but the situation has deteriorated sharply as the broader regional conflict, the US-Israel war on Iran, has diverted international attention and complicated aid logistics. The blockade on commercial goods entering Gaza, including fuel, has left residents with no alternatives.
Medical professionals working with international agencies report a surge in respiratory illness, particularly among children under five and the elderly. Burning plastic, which many families resort to in the absence of wood, releases carcinogenic dioxins that cause long-term harm with even brief exposure.
What Families Are Burning
Reports document families collecting scraps of demolished buildings, door frames from destroyed houses, and plastic packaging to fuel their fires. In the absence of gas or electricity, there are no alternatives for cooking, sterilizing water, or warming food for infants.
The Canadian Humanitarian Response
Canada has been among the donor countries providing humanitarian assistance to Gaza through UN agencies. The Canadian government has allocated tens of millions of dollars to UNRWA and other organizations operating in the territory, though aid delivery has been complicated by ongoing conflict and access restrictions.
Canadian advocacy organizations have been pressing Ottawa to increase diplomatic pressure to allow humanitarian goods, including cooking fuel, to enter Gaza more consistently. The issue has come before the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee on multiple occasions, with witnesses including Canadian doctors who have done medical missions in the territory testifying about the health conditions they witnessed firsthand.
The images of families cooking over open plastic fires, described as life "covered in soot," have re-energized calls from Canadian civil society for stronger government action.
Source: Al Jazeera
