Clay ovens: Starving Palestinians rely on ancient tool to stay alive

Wisps of smoke curl up into the already hazy sky over Gaza. It’s morning in the besieged Palestinian enclave, and at a tent-camp on the premises of a UN-run school, people are busy preparing the traditional ‘taboon’ bread on wood-fired clay ovens.

Four months into Israel’s relentless military campaign in Gaza, breakfast is no longer a happy occasion for families coming together to start and plan the day.

It is now just a reminder of what life has come to for millions of Palestinians, driven to death and deprivation by one of the most brutal assaults on the community.

Bread-making, too, has become an arduous task – a challenge for exhausted mothers and desperate fathers to provide for their children.

With almost all the bakeries in Gaza ceasing operations, the traditional clay oven has emerged as the lifeline for Palestinians caught in the war – driven out of their homes and forced to seek shelter in hospitals and schools.

"The clay oven isn't suitable for me as I suffer from asthma. The smoke emanating from burning firewood exacerbates my chest pain. Unfortunately, I have no alternative,” says Um Firas, a mother of seven, who was forced to leave her home on the eastern border of Rafah to a UNRWA-run school in Al Zuhur neighbourhood of the city.

“I visited a pharmacy to purchase medication for chest tightness, but it wasn't available due to the Israeli siege,” she tells TRT World.

A Palestinian tradition

Palestinians have been using the clay oven for generations but not on the scale it is being used amid the war.

In peacetime Gaza – though peace has always been a vague term here – most Palestinians preferred to source their bread from the neighbourhood bakery.

Out of an estimated 130 bakeries in Gaza before the start of the war, all of them in the north have ceased operations, while just six remain in service in the south, according to the World Food Programme.

A large number of bakeries were bombed, and others had to shut shop after Israel cut off fuel supply.

With Israel allowing very little aid into Gaza, the UN and other agencies say that hunger stalks millions of Palestinians, with reports of people even resorting to animal feed to survive. Some are eating raw vegetables due to a lack of firewood or cooking fuel.

For those trying to bake bread, the struggle to find flour and firewood is an everyday affair.

65-year-old Hanaa, who identifies herself with only her first name, says they “face a multitude of hardships…Even getting the basic necessity of bread is a great struggle for us.” A mother of seven, Hanaa and her family relocated from their home city, Khan Younis, to take shelter in Rafah.

“We face a multitude of hardships…Even getting the basic necessity of bread is a great struggle for us,” she tells TRT World.

Forced to use a clay oven at the shelter, Hanaa says her sons help her light the firewood – which has also become “prohibitively expensive and increasingly scarce” – to make bread with the limited amount of flour available.

“This task is incredibly challenging, particularly given our confined living space and the large number of people in our shelter…The process of baking bread in a clay oven is time-consuming. It is particularly bothersome for my grandchildren, as they find the smell of smoke unbearable," she adds.

Many, like Hanaa, have seen their lives turn topsy-turvy due to the disruption caused by the war – frequent power outages and shortage of cooking gas.

“Before the onset of the war, I never felt the weight of laundry or the responsibility of providing bread. I relied on the convenience of an automatic washing machine and purchased bread from the bakery,” she says.

“However, due to the power outages and the shortage of cooking gas, I have been compelled to wash clothes by hand and bake bread using a clay oven.”

Hunger pangs

Despite growing calls for a ceasefire, Israel continues to unleash its military might on the hapless Palestinian civilians of Gaza, killing more than 28,000 people and displacing millions in the coastal enclave.

For the survivors, finding food and shelter in the devastated land has become as much of a challenge as escaping Israeli bombs and bullets.

Nisreen Shehadeh, a 26-year-old dentist and vlogger, has been forced to relocate three times due to Israeli bombardment, but even amid the war, she has found a way to indulge in her passion – cooking and baking.

Aware of the hardships faced by fellow Palestinians, Nisreen is now not only baking for her family but also for others at the temporary shelter in Rafah.

The self-taught chef, however, did not turn to the clay oven for her baking needs but improvised – she converted an electric cooker into one fueled by charcoal. It works on the same principle as the clay oven, though.

“Previously, I indulged in this passion within the comforts of my home. Now, amid the constant bombings, I've been compelled to innovate ways to sustain life.”

Nisreen and her husband narrowly escaped when their house was struck by shells fired from Israeli gunboats. Others have been not so lucky. The grim reality has changed her outlook towards life, making her aware of the fragile nature of life in this war zone.

But she continues to find ways to bake - for her family and others. “Bread is a vital staple for Palestinians, particularly amid dwindling food resources,” she tells TRT World.

"Procuring even the most basic ingredients necessary for bread production poses a significant challenge. Not only is it scarcely available in markets, it also comes at exorbitant prices and in limited quantities.”

Baking bread within the confines of a tent presented formidable challenges. The space was insufficient, particularly with children present. The makeshift method also emitted smoke, detrimental to the health of those around.

Life continues for the survivors, each carrying deep wounds that will perhaps never be healed.

Like Um Firas, who lost her eldest son – the strapping, 24-year-old Firas who was killed when Israel bombed her house in Rafah.

She sells some of the bread to supplement the family’s earnings in these trying times but barely earns 30 shekels (about US$ 8) daily. “This income is insufficient to meet even the most basic needs, especially considering the high prices.” Before the war, Um sold second-hand clothes, which ensured steady returns.

Feat of clay

For Hussein Zourub, a 23-year-old Rafah resident, the growing demand for clay ovens would have meant good business in normal times. He has been a professional clay oven maker since childhood.

He has not been able to bring himself around to jack up prices. “I don’t want to take advantage, especially during this tough time,” he tells TRT World.

"I sell each oven for 130 shekels (approximately US$ 35), but the profit margin is minimal. Soaring prices, coupled with the impact of Israeli actions in Gaza, make it challenging to support my family adequately," Hussein says, adding that crafting clay ovens is a time-consuming process that demands physical exertion.

With Israel showing no signs of slowing down its military aggression, Palestinians are adapting to life in the shadow of bombs and bullets. Most don’t know if they will live to see another sunrise.

Some miss life before the ongoing war. Life has always been a never-ending hardship for the oppressed people in Gaza and the occupied territories.

But perhaps nothing could have prepared them for what they are facing today.

Hanaa, who has raised 21 grandchildren and seen life in all its colours, says that Palestinians are “enduring the most challenging and dire days” of their lives as refugees in their own land.

And the clay oven plays a part in this context of Gaza before October 7, 2023 – the day the horror unfolded for the people of the enclave.

“Engaging with the clay oven before the war brought us joy as a family,” Hanaa says.

“We would use it sporadically, perhaps once every two months, to relish the traditional Palestinian ambience, free from the unsettling sounds of Israeli bombing, surveillance aircraft, and the scent of death in the air."