Out of the Rubble: Palestinians in Gaza Use Mud Bricks and Scrap to Rebuild Shattered Homes

Facing a severe shortage of construction supplies, Palestinians in Gaza are turning to mud bricks, salvaged wood, and sheets of fabric and plastic to rebuild homes and shops shattered by Israel’s war on the enclave. Across neighbourhoods flattened by months of bombardment, families stack handmade bricks directly atop broken concrete, improvising fragile walls over cratered floors.

These rudimentary structures offer little protection from heat, rain, or cold, but residents explain they are the only alternative to sleeping in overcrowded tents or in the open air. Gaza authorities report that more than 90 percent of the Strip has been destroyed since October 2023, leaving much of the area without adequate housing or basic infrastructure.

According to Palestinian health authorities and Gaza’s Government Media Office, Israel has killed at least 73,658 Palestinians, including more than 21,500 children. The office estimates that approximately 223,000 tonnes of explosives have been dropped on the territory, generating about 68 million tonnes of rubble. The United Nations notes that only about 310,000 tonnes—less than 0.5 percent—have been cleared so far, a pace that would take more than a century to remove the debris currently underlying Gaza’s fragile, handmade homes.

In the Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza, individuals like Khalil Abu Ramadan, 26, and Khalil Abu Deeb, 31, are actively moulding clay bricks. Workers mix clay using water from plastic containers to construct alternative building materials. Meanwhile, in Gaza City, Palestinian carpenter Alaa Joudah, 39, cuts wood for a new dwelling beside the ruins of his former home, while 11-year-old Julia Joudeh climbs onto her new wooden house built directly atop the family's war-destroyed property.