In Gaza, stolen goods turn into 'thieves' markets'

Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip: As he perused a market selling everything from stolen children's shoes to battered plumbing pipes, Mahmoud al-Jabri was surprised to find something familiar: his own book collection.

Among the collection was his first published work of poems. Even more shocking than seeing the book he had toiled for years to create was that the vendor wanted a paltry 5 shekels (about $1) for it. The seller suggested using the pages for kindling.

"I was torn between two feelings," he said, "laughter and bitterness."

In the Gaza Strip, even poetry books can become a source of profit for enterprising thieves. A pervasive lawlessness has emerged from the rubble of cities obliterated since Israel launched its all-out offensive on the enclave in retaliation for the Hamas-led attacks of Oct. 7.

"Thieves' markets," as they are called by locals, have proliferated across Gaza, selling loot plundered from homes, businesses and even hospitals. With Israel blocking the flow of most goods into the enclave, the markets have become important places for finding household necessities. And visits to the markets have become a weary ritual for Palestinians seeking to reclaim stolen pieces of their lives.

In Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza, the bustling trade in stolen goods happens next to the traditional street market. Once a tangled network of streets awash in the smell of spices and the chants of vendors hawking fruit, that market has been reduced to a single thoroughfare as most commerce has dried up under the Israeli blockade.

Now, it is the thieves' markets that thrive, teeming with nervous energy as crowds mill about piles of loot.

Shoppers and vendors look around suspiciously as they go about their business. Sometimes, families forced to buy their own possessions back at exorbitant prices are overcome with rage at sellers who claim to have no idea where the goods came from. The arguments can come to blows, residents say, and occasionally gunfire.

The lawlessness is felt everywhere in Gaza. Many increasingly destitute people have been driven to petty thievery.

Before the current war, Hamas-affiliated police patrolled the streets and kept a lid on crime. But they have now all but disappeared, targets of Israel's military as it undertakes its aim to "dismantle Hamas' military and administrative capabilities."