With a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas linking the start of reconstruction in Gaza to demilitarisation, Palestinians feel they are in a race against time.
About 1.98 million people, or 94 per cent of the population, require proper shelter urgently in the enclave, a report led by the Norwegian Refugee Council and conducted through the Palestine Shelter Cluster shows.
The staggering figure was released days after Israel and the Board of Peace had agreed to establish two working groups on Gaza, one on disarmament and demilitarisation, and the second on sanitation, clean water and other public health issues.
However, Israel has insisted that the disarmament of militant groups must be completed before reconstruction, which is forecast to cost about $71 billion, begins in the Palestinian territory.
Meanwhile, the report found that residents and families are living amid flooding, pests, and unsafe buildings, while Israeli restrictions on materials hamper repairs.
Palestinian Akram Abu Humeideh, 42, begins his day before sunrise because of the heat in the tent he lives in. The displaced former teacher now lives in Al Mawasi in Khan Younis, in the south of the Gaza Strip, with his wife and four children.
He starts by queuing for water, then for food at a community kitchen before finding somewhere to charge mobile phones and batteries.
After that, Mr Abu Humeideh cleans around the tent and eventually tries to sleep despite insects and rodents.
“Living in a tent means losing all privacy and comfort; every day becomes an exhausting struggle just to secure the basic necessities of life," he told The National.
Filling water containers
His experience is shared by hundreds of thousands of Palestinians almost three years into the Gaza war, according to the report that paints a picture of a shelter emergency that goes far beyond the destruction of homes.
About 84 per cent of households were classified as living in “critical” or “catastrophic” conditions when researchers assessed their ability to perform basic domestic activities, including sleeping, cooking, washing, storing water, accessing lighting and coping with extreme temperatures.
All four governorates included in the assessment, North Gaza, Gaza, Deir Al Balah and Khan Younis, were classified in Phase 4, or Critical, under the Shelter Severity Classification system; Rafah and other areas deemed inaccessible or unsafe were excluded from the study.
The assessment was based on 1,951 household interviews conducted between June 14 and 28 and used a five-phase scale ranging from minimal to catastrophic.
Mr Abu Humeideh's youngest daughter Leen, 6, has grown up knowing war and life in a tent. “It breaks my heart when I see her going to fill water containers or carrying a pot to the community kitchen to collect food," he said.
The conditions described by Mr Abu Hmeideh are reflected across the Shelter Cluster assessment. About 65 per cent of assessed households are living in tents or makeshift shelters. Tents alone accommodate 54 per cent of households, while another 11 per cent are in makeshift structures.
The wonderful period
For families who have managed to return to their homes, the alternative is not necessarily safer.
Basel Abu Madi, 50, knows both realities. His family lived in a tent during the early stages of the war. When they returned to northern Gaza in January 2025, they found their three-storey home on Al Jalaa street still standing. Windows, doors, and some walls were damaged, but the structure remained largely intact.
“Our happiness was indescribable,” Mr Abu Madi told The National. “We moved back in and spent a period there that felt wonderful compared with life in a tent."
They stayed for about eight months. When Israel launched its Gaza city offensive in August 2025, the family was displaced to the south and returned to tents.
Two months later, after the October ceasefire agreement came into effect, they went home again. But this time, their house was almost gone. Only the first floor and part of the second floor of the three-storey building remained.
Over the following months, the family repaired what it could and moved back into the ruins. Mr Abu Madi now lives there with his family of eight, alongside his married son and his family of three.
“Living in the remnants of your home is extremely difficult,” he said. “There is the heartbreak you feel every time you remember what your house once looked like, how you used to live there, and then see what it has become.”
