Palestinians in Gaza tirelessly work to make charcoal for winter

Palestinians work around the clock at the al-Hattab charcoal-making facility in the Gaza Strip, especially during winter and holiday periods when coal is in high demand.

While workers cut down various types of trees to make the charcoal, citrus trees are very useful and the most expensive. However, al-Hattab workers don't focus on only one type of wood and work also with elkinia and olivewood.

After harvesting the trees, workers shape the wood into a pyramid that is buried beneath the sand.

The pyramid is set on fire, and it burns from the inside for several days.

During this period, workers must control the burning by regularly moistening the pyramid with water.

When the fire has subsided, the sand is cleared, leaving the burnt wood exposed for six days.

The workers are then able to harvest and clean the raw charcoal.

The facility produces 80-90 metric tons of charcoal annually.

At the end of the production process, customers can purchase bags of charcoal directly from the factory.

One kilogram is sold for $1.50 on-site and $2.50 in the markets.

The blockaded Gaza relies on Israel for most of its energy needs.

Its population of 2 million currently receives around six hours of electricity followed by a 10-hour power cut.

Gaza homes and businesses rely on generators to make up for the lengthy power cuts, increasing the financial pressure on its largely impoverished people.

Israel has used collective punishment against Palestinians since the illegal occupation began in 1967 through home demolitions and psychological and economic warfare.

Israel and Egypt have maintained a blockade of the Gaza Strip since Hamas took power in the enclave in 2007.

Israel has fought three wars with Hamas in the Gaza Strip in the years since.

Since 2007, the besieged enclave has been under a crippling Israeli and Egyptian blockade that has gutted its economy and deprived its inhabitants of many vital commodities, including food, fuel and medicine.

In the long-embargoed enclave, the humanitarian situation has grown worse by the day.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) stated last year that there are now some 620,000 Gazans who live in abject poverty, meaning those who cannot cover their basic food needs and who have to survive on $1.60 per day.

Meanwhile, nearly 400,000 Gazans live in absolute poverty.