In Gaza’s darkness, Palestinians use ingenuity to light up their lives

More than two years since the start of Israel’s genocide on Gaza, which killed thousands and destroyed Gaza’s electricity infrastructure, darkness still dominates daily life in the besieged enclave. Despite repeated claims of recovery by Israel and those outside, the truth is stark: Gaza’s main electrical grid has not returned.

Gaza’s only power plant in the Nuseirat area of central Gaza was damaged during the war and remains shut down because Israeli restrictions prevent the entry of fuel, equipment, and spare parts required to restore operations.

What has emerged instead are improvised and costly alternatives. With the power supply completely turned off, Palestinians have been forced to rely on private electricity generators to meet even the most basic needs.

Rationed electricity supplied by Israel and Egypt to Gaza was also cut during the war and has not been fully restored.

According to the Gaza Electricity Company, initial losses in areas reached by maintenance crews are estimated at $450 million, with more than 80 percent of the infrastructure destroyed. Across the enclave, electricity poles and streetlights lie twisted or shattered, bearing witness to the scale of devastation.

Since the Gaza blockade in 2008, it has faced chronic electricity shortages imposed by Israel, with households receiving anywhere between four to 12 hours of power a day.

In recent months, local investment companies have stepped in to operate large-scale generators, selling electricity to households and businesses for a fee. These projects have become a fragile lifeline for residents struggling to survive under siege.

These generator networks operate in the absence of a unified regulatory framework, leaving pricing and distribution largely unmonitored. 

Small businesses hit

At a tailor's in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, the wheels of the sewing machine are spinning again, powered by the precise movements of workers' feet. They guide fabric under needles with skilled speed, their fingers deftly moving to coordinate each piece. The whirring sound of the machines here has been absent for more than two years during the total power outage.

The shop’s owner, Mohammed Youssef, 40, says he primarily relies on an electricity line supplied by a private generator company. For him, these projects have been a necessary solution, restoring limited production and income.

He operates two machines staffed by four workers on alternating shifts, running for up to 14 hours a day. "The reality isn't rosy,” Youssef says, “but this is a temporary solution. The costs are very high, yet it allows me to work and support my family.”

Small businesses like Youssef’s were among the hardest hit by power outages, with thousands shutting down entirely during the war.

Youssef supports four children, the eldest is 15, while his employees also depend on daily wages. To cover electricity costs, he has been forced to raise prices for clothing alterations, often leading to disputes with customers. “Sometimes I lose them,” he says, “but I have no other option.”

He pays $550 weekly for a six-ampere electricity line, which is sometimes disconnected, bringing work to a standstill and delaying customer orders. His situation mirrors that of dozens of shop owners across the market. 

Like many others, Youssef longs for the return of a stable, affordable public electricity supply, one that could revive Gaza’s economy and restore markets to pre-war conditions. 

For Suad, Saleh, 35, electricity is not about comfort or commerce; it’s about survival.

The mother of three lives with her husband and children in a small house among the destroyed alleys of Al-Bureij camp in central Gaza. Saleh suffers from chronic asthma. "During the war, I moved daily between hospitals and medical clinics,” she recalls, carrying my nebuliser in search of any place to charge it.

At times, she relied on solar-powered batteries, but cloudy days meant her breathing device could not be charged. “That fear never leaves me,” Saleh says. “If the device stops, my life is at risk.”

Most hospitals and clinics in Gaza also rely on generators that are also vulnerable to fuel shortages and breakdowns.

She uses a two-ampere generator line at home, paying $13 weekly, with a minimum charge of $6. Her electricity use is strictly rationed – powering only her medical device, one light for her children to study at night, and phone charging. All other electrical appliances remain unused. 

Without electricity, she washes clothes by hand and lives in constant anxiety. Her husband’s income as a vegetable seller barely covers food expenses, yet the family must prioritise electricity to keep Saleh alive.

"I hope international relief organisations help reduce these unbearable costs,” she says, “until the main power lines are restored.”

From plastic light

Amid the crisis, the Abu Zeid Company, a well-established local general trading firm, has offered an unconventional solution: generating electricity by converting plastic waste into industrial fuel.

The company now supplies 54 percent of Gaza’s inhabited areas. Its general manager, Iman Shaheen, says the project was driven by urgent necessity. “Lighting Gaza must come before reconstruction,” she explains. “Life begins with basic services,”

Despite the company’s only facility being targeted by Israel in January 2025, killing two workers, operations continued. Electricity supplied by the company has facilitated the return of displaced families to northern areas such as Al-Nasr and Al-Shati, places that were depopulated during the war.

The plastic waste used is usually collected by the children and waste collection, then processed in workshops in Al-Zawaida into industrial diesel and gasoline for generators, with some of the fuel sold to other generator operators.

Shaheen acknowledges the health and environmental risks involved but insists the alternative is paralysis of life in Gaza. Israeli fuel costs between $9–10 per litre, compared to $5–7 for locally produced industrial fuel.

The company operates seven branches across Gaza, servicing around 12,000 subscribers. Electricity is sold at $4.86 per kilowatt, while the company also provides free street lighting in several areas.

"We are not a replacement for the Gaza Electricity Company,” Shaheen says. “This is a temporary solution. We face immense challenges, worn-out generators, spare-part shortages, and high maintenance costs.”

Yet shutting down is not an option, as thousands of patients in hospitals depend on the electricity.

Economic expert Ahmed Abu Qamar describes generator projects as indispensable under current conditions but warns they are no substitute for a functioning national power grid.

Gaza requires about 500 megawatts of electricity daily to meet basic needs, he explains. Generator dependence has created a distorted economic reality: sustaining life on one hand, while draining household incomes on the other. 

Families now spend between $70 and $100 per month on generator electricity, an enormous burden amid soaring unemployment and shrinking wages. Abu Qamar calls for the regulation of generator projects to ensure sustainability and protect consumers.

But there is currently no centralised authority capable of enforcing pricing or safety standards across Gaza.

Until the grid returns, Gaza’s light will come at a price few can afford.