Shafaq News – Gaza

In Gaza today, even clothing has become a casualty of war and blockade. Families once proud of dressing their children in new outfits for holidays now bring threadbare shirts and torn trousers to tailors, hoping a few stitches will extend their life. What was once a symbol of dignity and celebration has become an unaffordable luxury.

At his small workshop, 70-year-old tailor Mohammad Younes leans over a sewing machine he only recently acquired with help from neighbors. After two decades away from the trade, he now spends his days repairing clothes that families can no longer replace. “We charge just one shekel (about $0.30) to fix a piece,” he told Shafaq News. “It may seem little, but it is the difference between walking with clothes or without them.”

For Younes and many others, tailoring has turned into a form of relief work. Every patch and seam is not only a livelihood but also a lifeline for households whose wardrobes have been reduced to a few fading garments.

The absence of new clothes is felt most sharply during Eid, when fresh outfits have long marked joy and renewal. This year, many families quietly re-gifted second-hand items or sent their children to celebrations in repaired clothes. The tradition of choosing new garments for loved ones has been stripped away, leaving a hollow echo of festivity.

“It is heartbreaking,” said one resident to aid monitors. “Clothes are not just fabric. They are dignity, they are a way to show love, and they are how our children feel they belong.”

The crisis is deepened by the Israeli blockade that severely restricts the entry of clothes, shoes, and blankets. Euro-Med Monitor reported that the amount of aid permitted in recent months covered less than a fraction of actual needs. Warehouses filled with essential supplies remain stalled at the borders, while prices in local markets spiral beyond imagination.

Even second-hand garments, once a fallback for poorer families, have become unaffordable. Humanitarian agencies describe the situation as one where the very basics of human life—food, shelter, warmth, and clothing—are being denied.

Economic expert Abdulaziz al-Hila told Shafaq News that dozens of tailors have reopened their shops with old machines, not for profit but to meet desperate needs. “This is no longer an industry,” he said. “It is a humanitarian service. Without them, people would be left without clothing altogether.”

Some workshops now receive requests to adjust clothes for people who have lost weight due to hunger. Each alteration is a painful reminder of the deprivation that shapes daily life.

In Gaza, the struggle for clothes has become a mirror of the wider humanitarian catastrophe. A patched sleeve or repaired hem carries the story of a family’s endurance under blockade. Eid without new clothes, markets without stock, and children dressed in garments worn thin all testify to how deeply the Israeli siege has cut into ordinary life.

Written and edited by Shafaq News staff.