Gazans smoke molokhia leaves as tobacco disappears
Interviews in the lead report describe some Gaza residents drying molokhia leaves, rolling them in paper and smoking them as tobacco has become scarce and unaffordable under wartime restrictions and market breakdown. The practice is a small but revealing signal of Gaza’s wider deprivation: people are improvising not only food, shelter and water access, but also coping habits normally supplied by regulated consumer markets. OCHA’s 5 June situation report says Gaza’s supply chains remain unpredictable, with prices far above pre-October 2023 levels and cargo entry narrowed by crossing closures and screening delays. The health concern is straightforward: WHO states that all forms of tobacco use are harmful and that there is no safe level of exposure to smoke, while a 2011 IJERPH review found tobacco smoke contains thousands of chemicals and identified hazardous components linked to cancer, cardiovascular and respiratory disease. Molokhia cigarettes should therefore be read as a public-health warning inside a humanitarian crisis, not as a novelty.
Verified by Validiris·📚 6 sources·🧠 AI-checked·🇧🇪 Belgian: LowWhy you can trust this
About this story
Molokhia (leafy jute mallow widely cooked in Palestinian, Egyptian and Levantine cuisine) is being used in the lead report as an improvised smoking material rather than food. The Gaza Strip (coastal Palestinian territory under Israeli and Egyptian movement and goods restrictions since Hamas’s 2007 takeover) is the setting. Hamas (Palestinian Islamist movement that attacked Israel on 7 October 2023 and governs de facto in Gaza) remains central to Israel’s stated security rationale for restrictions. Israel (state controlling most Gaza access points and airspace) regulates cargo through crossings including Kerem Shalom (Israeli-controlled goods crossing into southern Gaza) and Zikim (northern Gaza crossing cited by OCHA as closed from 24 May 2026). OCHA (UN humanitarian coordination office) tracks access and supply constraints. WHO (UN health agency) sets global tobacco and smoke-risk guidance. DG ECHO (European Commission humanitarian-aid department) funds EU relief operations, currently led politically by Belgian Commissioner Hadja Lahbib.
How to read this story
The history
Israel tightened Gaza’s blockade after Hamas took control of the strip in 2007, while Egypt also restricted Rafah access. After Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack on Israel, Israeli military operations and entry limits pushed Gaza into a prolonged humanitarian emergency. OCHA’s 5 June 2026 update says Zikim had been closed since 24 May and Kerem Shalom was the only approved cargo crossing as of 4 June. Illicit tobacco has appeared before as a war-economy signal: the Israeli Justice Ministry accused Bezalel Zini and others in February 2026 of smuggling cigarette cartons into Gaza, an allegation his lawyers denied.
The geopolitics
Molokhia cigarettes are a minor object inside a larger geopolitical contest over Gaza’s blockade, Israel’s security policy, Hamas’s control, UN access and European diplomatic leverage. Tobacco scarcity also shows how restricted goods become political economy: ordinary commodities can turn into contraband, revenue sources, bargaining chips and evidence in arguments about whether restrictions protect security or deepen civilian harm.
Why now
The lead is timely because it appears after months of continued shortages and market distortion. OCHA’s 5 June situation report says Zikim remained closed, Kerem Shalom was the only approved cargo crossing as of 4 June, and prices were still far above pre-war levels.
What to watch
Watch whether Zikim reopens, whether Kerem Shalom screening delays ease, whether commercial truckloads shift toward essential items, and whether OCHA or health-cluster updates report respiratory illness, smoke exposure or further resort to improvised products. EU funding and medical-evacuation updates will show how Brussels responds to the wider health burden.
International angle
The story sits inside Europe’s Gaza humanitarian file. European Commission figures state that the EU has funded Palestinian humanitarian assistance since 2000, allocated new aid for 2026 and supported medical evacuations involving Belgium and other participating states. A household-level coping habit in Gaza therefore connects to EU debates over access, funding, crossings and the adequacy of relief delivery.
What this means for you
For Belgian and EU readers, nothing changes in daily life, but the story is a cue for how to read Gaza indicators: look beyond headline aid tonnage to market composition, prices, health services and coping behaviour. For NGOs and policymakers, improvised smoking points to public-health messaging, mental-health strain and the need to restore ordinary civilian supply chains.
What happens next
The practice is likely to continue while tobacco and ordinary consumer goods remain scarce or unaffordable. The next practical signals are crossing access, commercial-truck composition, price monitoring and health-cluster reporting. OCHA’s 5 June situation report points to Kerem Shalom congestion, funding shortfalls and supply-chain unpredictability as factors that could keep households relying on improvised substitutes.
Potential consequences
If molokhia cigarettes spread, the direct health burden is likely to be respiratory irritation and smoke exposure rather than nicotine dependence from the leaf itself. The wider consequence is informational: small coping practices can reveal shortages before formal indicators fully capture them. For donors and EU institutions, such behaviour could add pressure to examine not only calorie delivery, but also market restoration, mental-health stress and public-health risks inside displacement sites.
Opposing perspectives
- UN humanitarian agencies
OCHA’s 5 June situation report frames Gaza’s market distortions as a consequence of restricted, fragile and underfunded humanitarian access. In that reading, molokhia cigarettes are not a consumer-choice story but a symptom of civilians adapting to collapsed supply chains, weak purchasing power, damaged services and constrained entry of basic goods.
- Israeli security authorities
The Israeli Justice Ministry accused a smuggling network in February 2026 of moving cigarettes and other goods into Gaza and alleged such trade benefited Hamas. This frame treats tobacco scarcity and high cigarette prices partly as a security-economy problem: restricted goods can become lucrative contraband in wartime, and uncontrolled flows may strengthen armed actors.
- Public-health authorities
WHO states that all forms of tobacco use are harmful and that there is no safe level of exposure to smoke. From this frame, replacing tobacco with a plant leaf does not remove the core danger of combustion, inhaled particulates and toxic smoke exposure, especially in overcrowded conditions where second-hand exposure is hard to avoid.
Timeline
- 2007·Israel intensified Gaza movement and goods restrictions after Hamas took control of the strip; Egypt also restricted Rafah access.
- 2023-10-07·Hamas attacked Israel, after which Israel launched large-scale military operations in Gaza.
- 2026-02-05·The Israeli Justice Ministry accused Bezalel Zini and others of cigarette smuggling into Gaza; his lawyers denied the allegations.
- 2026-05-24·OCHA’s 5 June report says Israeli authorities kept Zikim crossing closed from this date.
- 2026-06-06·OCHA published its 5 June humanitarian situation report describing crossing constraints, prices and health risks.
- 2026-06-13·The lead report described Gaza residents smoking improvised molokhia cigarettes.
Glossary
- DG ECHO
- The European Commission department responsible for EU humanitarian aid and civil protection operations outside and inside the EU.
- EU Civil Protection Mechanism
- An EU coordination system that helps participating countries provide emergency assistance, including medical evacuations and relief supplies.
- Kerem Shalom
- An Israeli-controlled cargo crossing used for goods and aid entering Gaza.
- OCHA
- The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which tracks humanitarian needs, access and response operations.
How this story developed
2 reports on this subject — earliest first. You are reading the highlighted entry.
- Gaza fans gather for World Cup opener despite war
- Gazans smoke molokhia leaves as tobacco disappears· You are here
Related to this story
Live connections from the Belgium Impulse ecosystem — not recommendations.
This briefing was prepared with AI assistance and reviewed by a Belgium Impulse editor before publication. methodology.