Gazans Rebuild Homes Using Mud and Rubble Amid Blockade

In Khan Younis, seventy-six-year-old academic Fayez Abu Shamala rebuilds his home next to the ruins of his former residence. He uses salvaged stones and clay instead of unavailable cement to construct a small shelter with his family.

Abu Shamala collects usable stones from debris and repairs them for construction. He binds these stones together using clay since cement is inaccessible anywhere in Gaza. Nylon pieces cover the walls to protect the structure from rain damage.

He recovered windows and doors from wreckage to install in his new home. Abu Shamala states that he remains on his land while others destroy it. He contrasts the builders with the destroyers who demolished his previous house nearby.

This cycle echoes his displacement during the nineteen forty-eight Nakba. His family lived in mud houses after being forced from their village. Now, many across Gaza construct similar mud houses to brace for the cold and rainy winter season.

Israel blocks entry of cement and steel by classifying them as dual-use items. Satellite imagery from October twenty twenty-five shows eighty-one percent of structures damaged. The United Nations estimates destruction generated sixty-one million tonnes of rubble across the strip.

The Al-Rimal Company unveiled a two-story building made entirely from salvaged materials. Engineers used steel rebar and Jerusalem limestone extracted from debris. This structure will help international organizations receive and distribute aid across the devastated Gaza Strip.

Engineer Younis Abu Mueilaq notes that occupation challenges forced new rebuilding approaches. The team used aluminum from kitchen cabinets for internal partitions. They secured limestone stones with metal brackets to create an exterior facade without conventional cement or wood.