Suhad Sidam, a 43-year-old breast cancer survivor, was busy preparing drawings and sketches for the new masks at her small workshop in the besieged Gaza Strip. Some other women sewed drawings with embellished fabrics for colorful maskes with symbols like Christmas tree and Santa Claus.

"Most of what we produce is exported to European countries through the West Bank, as we are not allowed to directly market from the Gaza Strip to the outside world due to the closure imposed on Gaza for years. During December, the demand for embroidered masks in bright colors increased; we produced and exported hundreds of them to countries such as France, Germany, and Britain," Sidam told CGTN.

Many other women survivors of breast cancer work with Sidam in the workshop that started in 2017 with the International Humanitarian Care Agency's support as part of a program for cancer survivors. Some other women work from their homes where they do hand-knitting of the embroideries decorating face masks. This project is the only source of income for them and their families in light of the sharp decline in job opportunities in the besieged coastal strip, especially for women.

The sewing workers in this workshop hope to develop their work and open up to the markets of new countries in order to provide more job opportunities in light of the high unemployment rates in the Gaza Strip of more than 50 percent.

The spread of COVID-19 has also negatively affected the Palestinian labor market this year, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics in its recent statement. More than 264,000 Palestinians were absent from their work in the second quarter of this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the governmental restrictions that have been imposed since last March on movement between governorates in order to control the spread of the virus in the region.

Mona Al Namlah, a 24-year-old in the workshop, considers that the economic recession due to COVID-19 has affected most of the markets, but it opened a door for them to expand their business due to the increase in global demand for masks.

Despite this, Mona said, "I do not work here for financial returns only. There is a certain percentage of the profits from this work that regularly goes as donations to treat other breast cancer patients in Gaza to help them fight the disease, which makes working on this project of great human value to support cancer patients.