Amid widespread destruction in the Gaza Strip and the displacement of most residents into temporary tents, many families have resorted to building mud homes as a provisional means of protection from severe winter cold, in the absence of any near term reconstruction prospects.
Estimates indicate that more than 85 percent of Gaza’s infrastructure and residential buildings have been destroyed, a level of devastation unprecedented in the region in modern history. Data from the United Nations show that around 69 percent of buildings have been damaged or completely destroyed, leaving hundreds of thousands of families in urgent need of emergency shelter.
Mud homes constructed from earth and rubble have become one of the few options available. However, they offer limited protection from cold and rain and fall well below internationally recognised standards for safe and dignified housing, which require protection from the elements and basic living conditions.
Reconstruction costs are estimated at between 30 and 40 billion US dollars, with full rebuilding expected to take decades if restrictions on construction materials continue.
As winter deepens, most of Gaza’s population remains exposed to serious health risks in tents and makeshift shelters. Humanitarian organisations continue to call for the urgent opening of crossings to allow construction materials to enter, in order to provide housing that meets international standards and to ease a rapidly worsening humanitarian crisis.
