Thousands of Gazans are seeking refuge in apartment buildings damaged by conflict, risking their lives as reconstruction efforts remain stalled and suitable alternatives are scarce. Structures across the Gaza Strip are critically compromised, with many at risk of imminent collapse.
Heba Arafat, a resident of Gaza City, described her living situation in an apartment building whose foundations were damaged by Israeli airstrikes, resulting in a significant tilt. "We were forced to live here because we had nowhere else to go. All of our homes were destroyed, our land was razed and we have nothing left," Arafat stated. According to United Nations figures, by October 2025, 84 percent of all structures in Gaza had been damaged or destroyed. Gaza's civil defence reported that approximately 2,000 buildings across the territory are currently at risk of collapse.
The perilous living conditions were underscored last week when 21 people, including 12 children, died in Gaza City after a six-story building, which local authorities claimed had been repeatedly struck by Israeli airstrikes, collapsed. Israel has denied striking the building. Arafat's family returned to their four-story building in Gaza City's Al-Shati Refugee Camp after an October 2025 ceasefire, only to find it had collapsed inward at the ground floor, attributed to an Israeli ground operation. The building, now housing 30 residents, has lost its windows to blasts, with makeshift coverings offering minimal privacy.
Ramiz Alakbarov, the UN humanitarian coordinator for the Palestinian territories, noted that people throughout Gaza are residing in "hundreds of damaged and unsafe shelters." Municipal staff in Gaza City are identifying and marking buildings at risk of collapse. Hosni Muhanna, a Gaza City spokesman, highlighted that these structures pose a "genuine threat to the lives of the displaced persons sheltering inside them, as well as to residents in the vicinity and those in nearby displacement camps."
Despite the inherent dangers, many displaced individuals are compelled to inhabit these dilapidated buildings to escape the hardships of displacement camps, which offer inadequate protection from extreme weather and lack essential sanitation. Diseases like impetigo are prevalent in overcrowded camps due to poor waste disposal, leading some residents to perceive damaged buildings as a less hazardous option. However, with Gaza's economy devastated and reconstruction efforts impeded by restrictions on crucial equipment, residents remain dependent on aid and face an uncertain future.
The required spending for Gaza's recovery and reconstruction over the next decade is estimated at $71.4 billion, according to a joint assessment by the United Nations, World Bank, and European Union published in April. In the meantime, families like Arafat's live with constant fear. "We're afraid a wall or the roof might fall on us, so we huddle together, afraid that one of us might get hurt," she said.
