In Gaza winter is no longer a season but rather a death sentence for childhood

In Gaza, firewood is no longer just an alternative means of heating, cooking, or bathing; it has become a direct line between childhood and death.

In a winter without gas, without electricity, and without security, children emerge from displacement tents or the ruins of demolished homes, carrying small bags and empty hands, searching for pieces of wood, remnants of doors and furniture, or burnt trees to light a fire that will keep their families alive—or so they think.

But the occupation sees these children only as moving targets.

With the continued tight siege and the prevention of fuel and cooking gas from entering in the required quantities, thousands of displaced families have been forced to use firewood as their only source of heating and cooking.

Um al-Abd Ayesh, 46, displaced from northern Gaza to a camp in the central Gaza Strip, says: “For months, only one gas cylinder, with a capacity of just 6 kilograms, has entered. It was only enough for our family of eight for one month, and then we went back to cooking with firewood.” We boil water over firewood and warm ourselves by the embers, but it is our children who pay the price.

She adds, her voice hoarse, “I don’t send my son because I want to, but because if we don’t, we will die of cold or hunger. We can’t do without firewood when we don’t have the money to buy it from the market. A kilo of firewood costs about 6 shekels on average, which is equivalent to two dollars.”

The testimonies of the displaced converge on one fact: the targeting does not appear to be random, but rather recurs in known places and times, where children go out in small groups to collect firewood, often in open areas. Many families also rely