GAZA: In a Gaza workshop, a group of men patches up pleasure dinghies with reclaimed fiberglass, wood, and door frames pulled from the rubble, racing to get the boats ready for a tougher line of work.
The small vessels, which were used by families and swimmers before the war, have become a lifeline for the enclave’s fishing industry, which has been struggling to keep up its fleet.
Israeli restrictions on new fiberglass and other materials entering Gaza have made it increasingly difficult and expensive to repair the larger, purpose-built boats, fishermen said.
“A kilo of fiberglass in the era before the war was 50 or 60 shekels (approximately $17 or $21),” said fisherman Mohammed Al-Hissi. The cost today was around 800 shekels, he added.
COGAT, the Israeli military agency that controls access to Gaza, said the bans cover items that could have a military as well as a civilian use. It did not directly comment on restrictions on fiberglass. Even before the war that began with attacks on southern Israel in October 2023, Gaza’s fishermen faced strict Israeli restrictions on how far they could go out to sea.
