In the heart of Gaza City, the roof above Masada Abu Jarad’s flat has given way, leaving a jagged slab of concrete and twisted steel that now frames a makeshift tent. The family lives under the open sky, aware that the structure could crumble at any moment. “I want to leave, but who will give me an alternative?” Masada says, echoing a sentiment shared by many who have been forced back into damaged apartments after months of displacement.
Across the southern Remal neighbourhood, Abdullah Abu Hajar spends sleepless nights listening for any sign of movement inside the six-storey al-Najma building. “I stay awake all night, keeping watch,” he explains, describing how each creak or shift of concrete spikes his anxiety. His five children share the same cramped hall, while a nearby municipal sign warns that the building is unsafe. The recent collapse on September 16, which claimed 21 lives including 12 children, has turned these warnings into a lived reality for dozens of families.
Personal accounts of families living under danger
Thirty-six-year-old mother of five, Islam Hassanein, occupies a single room on the third floor of a leaning, water-logged block. The room was cleared of rubble and turned into a home by sheer necessity. “Every day, you hear the cracking,” she tells us, recalling a column that fell and temporarily forced residents out. With winter approaching, she worries that rain will seep through the exposed walls, turning the fragile shelter into a flood hazard. “Last winter was terrifying,” she admits, “and this year I fear the building will collapse altogether.”
Meanwhile, Khaled Al Soutari, who survived the September 16 disaster, now sleeps on the street without a tent. He recounts the night the Al-Sadah building gave way: “The ground shook like an earthquake, and within seconds I was buried under concrete,” he says, describing the harrowing rescue of his wife and three children. His daughter emerged with a leg injury that required surgery. Despite these traumas, Al Soutari says he cannot afford a tent or a new rental, relying solely on humanitarian aid.
Extent of damage and humanitarian estimates
A joint assessment by the United Nations the World Bank and the European Union released in October 2025 reveals that 371,888 housing units—about 76.6 % of Gaza’s stock—have been destroyed or severely damaged. The report estimates that reconstruction will demand more than $71 billion over the next decade. Since the conflict began, more than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed, and the UN notes that around 2,000 buildings remain on the brink of collapse.
UNICEF estimates that roughly 84 % of Gaza’s population—over 1.76 million people—are living in overcrowded displacement sites or inadequate shelters. Restrictions on the entry of tents, tarpaulins and essential construction materials have turned what should be temporary solutions into long-term hardships. The civil defence, hampered by a lack of heavy machinery, has managed to rescue 45 people from the September 16 collapse but warned that many more structures could fail under the weight of winter rain.
Barriers to safe shelter as winter approaches
Winter weather intensifies the peril for families like Masada’s and Islam’s. Open roofs allow water to infiltrate, increasing the load on already weakened walls. The displacement of residents from northern Gaza—such as those forced out of Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoon—has created a patchwork of temporary camps and improvised rooms with no guarantee of safety. Even when a “better place” is identified, rent is unaffordable: “Even if there is a better place, tell me how I can afford to rent it,” Masada explains.
International aid agencies are constrained by Israeli restrictions that classify heavy equipment and basic building supplies as “dual-use” items. As a result, less than 0.5 % of the estimated 68 million metric tons of rubble has been cleared. Without crumbling walls being removed and new shelter materials arriving, families remain trapped in a cycle of fear, exposure, and uncertainty, waiting for a solution that may never materialise.
