Families in Gaza are facing another winter with thousands sheltering inside buildings damaged by war and at risk of collapse, leaving many residents trapped between unsafe structures and the absence of alternative accommodation.
A report published Saturday documented families living inside severely damaged buildings despite warnings from emergency personnel that some structures are unsafe.
Among them is 60-year-old Masada Abu Jarad, whose family is reportedly living beneath a partially collapsed roof in Gaza City, with exposed steel and broken concrete leaving parts of the building open to the elements.
The Palestinian Red Crescent and Civil Defence reportedly visited the family and warned them to leave.
But leaving requires somewhere to go.
“We have no options,” Abu Jarad said, according to Al Jazeera. “I want to leave, but who will give me an alternative?”
Housing destruction on a massive scale
The humanitarian crisis is rooted in the enormous destruction of Gaza’s housing stock.
A joint assessment by the United Nations, World Bank and European Union estimated that 371,888 housing units — approximately 76.6 per cent of Gaza’s housing stock — had been destroyed or damaged as of October 2025.
The assessment estimated that reconstruction across Gaza would require more than US$71 billion over a decade.
The danger is no longer confined to buildings being destroyed during active fighting.
Structures already weakened by bombardment can become increasingly dangerous when exposed to heavy rain, flooding and strong winds.
A deadly warning
On September 16, a six-storey war-damaged residential building in Gaza City collapsed, killing 21 people, including 12 children, according to UN and Gaza Civil Defence reporting cited by Al Jazeera.
The tragedy underscores the danger facing families who remain in damaged buildings because alternatives are unavailable.
UNICEF estimates that approximately 84 per cent of Gaza’s population — more than 1.76 million people — are living in overcrowded displacement sites or damaged and inadequate shelters, with limited protection against winter weather.
For families already displaced repeatedly, another move may simply mean another tent, another overcrowded shelter or another damaged building.
Winter adds another layer of danger
Rainwater can enter through destroyed roofs and walls, weakening structures further while flooding already inadequate shelters.
Cold weather also creates additional risks for children, older people and families without adequate heating, dry clothing or safe accommodation.
The immediate humanitarian question is therefore not simply when Gaza can be rebuilt.
It is where families can safely sleep before reconstruction becomes possible.
Billions of dollars may eventually be required to rebuild Gaza’s housing stock. But for families facing the coming winter, the need is much more immediate.
They need a roof that will not collapse, walls that will keep out the rain and somewhere safe to go when the building they are occupying is declared unsafe. For many, according to the accounts emerging from Gaza, there is still nowhere else to go.
