As the humanitarian crisis deepens in Gaza after the collapse of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and the subsequent Israeli blockade, Palestinians are burning books for fuel.
The lockdown has severely restricted food, fuel and aid to Gaza’s 2 million residents, with families eager to cook and keep them warm.
With the exhausted fuel supply, residents are forced to burn available materials, including libraries and school books, highlighting extreme conditions.
Residents explain an unbearable situation in which survival outweighs cultural conservation.
Human rights groups condemned the lockdown and called for urgent international intervention.
The crisis highlights the catastrophic human costs of conflict and the need for immediate action to alleviate suffering and restore Gazan’s dignity.
The smoke from a burning book now mixes the dust with the ever-present scent of explosives.
Doctors at overwhelming hospitals, already suffering from a decline in supply, have reported a surge in respiratory illnesses, exacerbated by toxic smoke.
The United Nations warns of an imminent public health catastrophe, shattered into blockades, and sanitation collapses under the weight of blockades.
The act of burning a book, a painful symbol of despair, resonates well beyond Gaza.
Scholars and cultural institutions around the world have expressed their anger and call them wild acts forced on a population hungry for basic necessities.
They emphasize the long-term implications of such cultural destruction, fearing the loss of Gaza’s intellectual heritage and the erosion of its identity.
Some countries are increasing the stagnant humanitarian aid at border intersections, but with resistance in search of an immediate and unconditional end to blockade.
The cycle of violence continues, perpetuating the suffering and pushing Gazan further into the deep by despair.
Palestinian professor and writer Dr. Phase Abu Shamare has apologised for having to set the collection of poems on fire to set fire to cook for cooking. He expressed his sadness over burning the work of famous Arab poet Najik al-Malaika, describing it as a painful act of sacrificing culture, history and humanity for survival.
According to Indian media, ETV Bharat, an Islamic University in Gaza, the prestigious learning center in the once-besieged territory is a shelter for many, and the book here burns fire for a makeshift stove.
Children are searching for tile ble in university buildings to burn burning books to help parents fill their stomachs, sources added.
Palestinians have resorted to burning books in Gaza for fuel amid the humanitarian crisis after Israel and Hamas broke down, France24 reports.
Israel had already cut off food, fuel and humanitarian supplies to Gaza’s roughly 2 million Palestinians, and was aiming to put pressure on Hamas to negotiate ceasefires, sources added.
The burning book serves as a reminder of the human cost of inaction, a hopeless plea to return to humanity in conflicts that seem to have lost all senses.
Reported by Tohid Mahmoudpour