Displaced families shelter in damaged Gaza buildings as safer options run short
Residents describe living amid structural damage and fearing collapse, while the UN says thousands are sheltering in buildings considered unsafe.
Families displaced by Israel’s war are living in damaged buildings across Gaza because safer accommodation is scarce or unaffordable. Residents told Al Jazeera they fear further collapses but have nowhere else to go.
In Gaza City, Masada Abu Jarad’s family has pitched a tent beneath a partly collapsed roof. The Palestinian Red Crescent and Civil Defence warned the family to leave, she said, but she cannot afford to rent elsewhere.
Residents of another damaged building in the city say they hear cracking and shifting concrete. Abdullah Abu Hajar estimates about 17 families live in the building, where municipal notices warn of collapse risk. Islam Hassanein said a column fell in her building and her family was temporarily evacuated.
Fears have intensified since a six-storey residential building collapsed in Gaza City on 16 September. The UN and Gaza Civil Defence, as cited by Al Jazeera, reported that 21 people were killed, including 12 children.
A joint assessment by the UN, World Bank and European Union found 371,888 housing units—76.6 per cent of Gaza’s housing stock—destroyed or damaged as of October 2025. The UN says thousands are sheltering in damaged buildings considered unsafe, while UNICEF estimates more than 1.76 million people live in overcrowded displacement sites or damaged and inadequate shelters.
Residents face added risks as winter approaches, with exposed buildings vulnerable to rain and flooding. Al Jazeera reports that restrictions on the entry of tents, tarpaulins and other shelter materials are limiting alternatives.
