Collapse of the Cooking Gas Supply System in the Gaza Strip

Collapse of the Cooking Gas Supply System in the Gaza Strip

The fact sheet highlights a severe crisis affecting cooking gas supplies in the Gaza Strip, where available quantities have fallen below 3% of the population’s actual needs. During March, cooking gas imports stopped completely for ten days, causing gas to disappear from markets and prices to rise sharply.

As a result of the shortage, approximately 50% of residents have become dependent on burning basic alternatives, particularly firewood, to meet their daily cooking needs. The black-market price of cooking gas has reached around NIS 100 per kilogram, while the difference between the official price and the market price during periods of crisis has ranged from 10 to 28 times.

In some cases, purchasing one cylinder on the parallel market consumes between 20% and 40% of the monthly income of a low-income household. Access to cooking gas has consequently shifted from normal purchasing arrangements to a distribution system based on waiting lists and assigned turns.

The crisis has also affected essential services and food production. Six bakeries reportedly closed because of gas shortages. These indicators demonstrate that the collapse of the cooking gas system is affecting food security, public health, household livelihoods, and access to essential services, while forcing families to use unsafe and environmentally harmful cooking alternatives.