Smell of Success? Palestinian workers package M-75 perfume, which is named after a type of rocket fired at Israel during the recent conflict. Image by getty images

Sales of a citrus-scented perfume marketed in Gaza have soared since it was named in honour of the rockets that Palestinians shot at Israel during a war last month, the manufacturer said.

“M-75” perfume, which comes in men’s and women’s fragrances, is named for the missiles Hamas Islamist militants shot at Tel Aviv and Jerusalem in an eight-day conflict that killed more than 170 Palestinians and six Israelis, ending with an Egyptian-brokered truce.

Although both sides proclaimed victory, and Israel said it had halted rocket fire at its towns, many in Gaza take pride in militants having shot a rocket as far as Tel Aviv, the longest-range aerial strike by the Palestinians so far.

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“I hope the smell is strong enough for them to whiff in Tel Aviv and remind the Jews of the Palestinian victory,” Ahmed Hassan, a customer from neighbouring Egypt, said as he bought 30 vials of the perfume as souvenirs in a Gaza City shop.

Rajaey Odwan, director of Gaza’s Continental Style perfume company which markets imported fragrances and local knockoffs, said he thought he’d give customers a chance to smell victory and “turn it into a perfume”.

He sells the 60 ml (2 oz) black-and-green bottles made of orange, lemon and other herbal scents collected in Gaza, for about $13 apiece.

“Sales have gone through the roof,” he said.

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