With reconstruction stalled, Gazans shelter in buildings at risk of collapse

Stalled Reconstruction

Inside a Gaza City apartment, Heba Arafat moves cautiously upward across a living room that leans dramatically after Israeli airstrikes succumbed to foundation failure, rendering the entire structure unsteady.

Like countless others, Arafat abandoned ruined homes throughout the conflict, stating that with no other viable choices, life outside offered no safety.

“Having no place to turn, we retreated here—I was left with nothing else,” Arafat, 47, explained.

According to the United Nations, 84 percent of Gaza’s building inventory had been damaged or destroyed by October 2025, and civilian defense officials report that roughly two thousand residential structures currently face imminent collapse.

Late last week, a six‑story building striking multiple targets collapsed, killing twenty‑one people—including twelve children—in what local police described as a series of Israeli airstrikes, though the agency denied involvement.

Still residing in her original fourth‑floor apartment within the Al‑Shati Refugee Camp of Gaza City—the home they evacuated at the onset of the October 2023 exchange—Arafat describes the family’s dire situation.

The Arafat household consists of the woman, her husband, and six daughters, who returned after the October 2025 ceasefire—a pause that has shortened but not eliminated Israeli bombardments.

Surveyed after the truce, they discovered their four‑story dwelling, where thirty occupants resided, had buckled inward at the ground level, attributing the collapse to continuous ground operations in the area.

Almost everywhere in Gaza City, glass panes have been obliterated by explosive blasts; makeshift coverings hung across window frames provide only fleeting privacy.

Throughout her testimony, Arafat illustrates the instability of their environment: a water bottle placed upright on the floor promptly rolls toward the opposite end, emphasizing how precarious daily routines have become.

Stalled Reconstruction

Municipal authorities patrol neighborhoods to identify precarious edifices and mark them with caution stickers. “These dwellings pose a severe hazard to displaced residents sheltering inside them, as well as to neighbors and individuals in nearby displacement camps,” declared Hosni Muhanna, a Gaza City official.

Muhanna acknowledges that some populations remain confined to deteriorating habitats because any alternative has vanished.

“Thousands of internally displaced people are forced to inhabit crumbling buildings on the edge of collapse solely to escape the hardships of camps that lack protection against summer heat or winter chill,” he added.

Nearly every Gaza resident has experienced displacement at least once, with many continuing to reside in expansive displacement camps composed of tents supplied by aid organizations or improvised shelters.

Medical emergencies—such as the spread of skin infections—driven by inadequate waste management and overcrowding encourage many to accept the heightened risks of occupying unrepaired structures.

The territory’s economy remains in tatters, leaving most Gazan citizens dependent on aid that Israel permits under the constraints established by the US‑brokered October 2025 ceasefire.

Even as residents endure, Israel continues launching airstrikes while restricting the delivery of equipment it classifies as potentially military, though Gazans and international NGOs argue these materials are essential for the region’s large‑scale reconstruction needs.

Technicians Raphaël Dujarric observed in August that the prolonged stall of the cease‑fire has prevented reconstruction projects from starting despite earlier plans.

A joint assessment issued by the United Nations, the World Bank, and the European Union warned that Gaza will require $71.4 billion in recovery and reconstruction spending over the coming decade.

“We’re scared a wall or the roof might fall on us, so we huddle together, afraid that one of us might get hurt,” Arafat said.

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