GAZA CITY: The vintage beige Mercedes would be eye-catching anywhere in the world, but it is especially so on the streets of impoverished Gaza City.

Munir al-Shandi, 42, is among a handful of vintage car enthusiasts in the Gaza Strip, defying a punishing Israeli siege imposed on the Palestinian coastal enclave to pursue a passionate hobby.

As he drives a 1929 Mercedes-Benz Gazelle, which he restored, through Gaza’s cratered roads, young children run after him in excitement, reaching out to touch the car’s pristine bodywork.

“Everyone in the street is amazed and asks to take pictures,” Shandi, a mechanic, said as he showcased the replica of the vintage car he had assembled in his workshop.

“The restoration would have been faster and the quality and shape better if the materials had been available.” Around 2.3 million Palestinians live in the territory, which has been under a crippling Israeli blockade since the Hamas seized power there in 2007.

But such obstacles have not stopped Shandi, and the Gazelle is not the only vintage vehicle he has rebuilt. He is also the proud owner of a 1946 Armstrong Siddeley Hurricane, which he has restored.

Shandi began work on the Gazelle in 2015 at his workshop in eastern Gaza City.

He used locally available items as much as possible, although he also had to rely on friends outside Gaza to procure some spare parts.

His friends brought the parts in through the Rafah crossing on Gaza’s border with Egypt, he said.

“I brought in through friends of mine in the UAE some spare parts for the car, and they in turn imported them from America, but they took eight months to arrive,” he said.

Published in Dawn, August 25th, 2023