After hours spent carefully preparing her cakes, Abrar Abdu stood stunned in silence before her oven.
In her small, darkened workshop in Gaza City, the only light came from her phone’s torch, illuminating more than 27 ruined cakes - the result of a sudden power cut and a faulty oven.
Abdu, 34, who runs a small cake business in the Palestinian enclave, was forced to apologise to customers after failing to deliver their orders, refund every payment and absorb the full cost of the wasted ingredients.
“I have incurred devastating financial losses due to the chronic instability of the electricity generators,” she told Middle East Eye.
The losses have pushed her to the brink, she added, threatening not only her livelihood but also that of her employees.
