Wood becomes main fuel in battered Gaza

With cooking gas scarce and electricity largely absent, families across war-ravaged Gaza rely on wood to cook meals and stay warm through winter nights.

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are sheltering in tent camps or damaged buildings, exposed to cold, wet conditions as temperatures drop below 10 degrees Celsius at night.

Men bend over piles of splinted wood, sawing and chopping by hand before sorting the pieces into bags.

The shortage of wood has driven some residents to risk their lives crossing the Yellow Line into Israeli-controlled areas to gather scraps.

The scarcity is hitting aid operations as well.

At a soup kitchen, staff scramble daily to secure enough firewood to keep pots boiling for displaced families.