Palestinians Struggle to Rebuild Amid Gaza’s Devastation

As darkness blankets the northern region of Gaza, the portions of the city’s obliterated structures and ruined sites go completely dark. To ease the fear of her young children who are terrified of the dark, Rawya Tamboura has to turn on her phone flashlight and a torch. This, however, is only possible until her batteries last. 

Tamboura has returned to her house after being displaced for most of the 16 months of the war, but she argues it is still an infuriating shell of a life as she has to live in angering conditions. In her house, there are no services, running water, electricity, and even tools to clear the rubble around.

As per the United Nations, close to 600,000 Palestinians have returned to the northern region of Gaza with the new ceasefire that has been implemented for nearly a month. Yet, people are forced to live in the cover of destruction considering the damage that has occurred.

Tamboura argues that some people desire the war to start again, though the impact of such an action would result in fatalities as the act would have a far greater impact. We are still unsure about the solutions in the longer term. To be honest, I don’t know how to plan for the future.

By the end of the day on Saturday, the six week ceasefire will have come to an end, and the developments that will come will be uncertain. There are attempts to keep the peace while the next stage is debated. Should hostilities break out again, those who relocated back to the North will, yet again, find themselves caught in the crossfire.

A recent joint report by the World Bank, the UN and European Union estimated that an rebuild of Gaza will cost approximately 53 billion dollars after entire neighborhoods face destruction due to the Israeli bombardment and offensive operations against the Hamas militants. As of now, there is barely any manpower nor any funding to begin the process for significant rebuilding. 

This requires Gaza to be made liveable as fast as possible. Earlier in February, Hamas had the potential to hold up rounds of hostage as long as there were more tents and temporary shelters entered in Gaza, but then reversed the stance and begun to increase the pace of hostage releases once Israel allowed mobile homes and construction equipment to be brought in. 

As per the UN, humanitarian organizations have been rapidly increasing their services by setting up free kitchens and water tap stations along with providing tents and tarpaulins to stretchers spread across Gaza.

Trump insisted that the complete population of Gaza be wiped out so that the US can step in and utilize the land for its own purposes. This suggestion was instantly rejected by the Palestinians as they seek support in order to build for their own people. 

According to a spokesperson, Asem Alnabih, the municipality of Gaza has started to fix water lines, BUT lacks the necessary machinery. 

Gaza desperately needs the material aid and machinery. Alnabih goes on to state that only a small portion of their 40-owned bulldozers and 5 dump trucks remain operational. The red cross estimates the amount of material that will need to be moved is over 50 million tons and if 100 trucks were to work simultaneously, it would take more than 15 years to clear, and working at minimum capacity, the task would take even longer. 

Tamboura claims she, like many others, attempts to survive each day as it comes. 

After moving first into an indonesian hospital where her father worked in order to escape the violence, Tamboura describes her life in a now infamously bombed region of the Gaza Strip, detailing her family's story. And maintaining normalcy as she moved back home along with the rest of her family onto a single semi livable room. What was once her house.

Thor, a self-employed monitor, possesses a solar energy system that provides enough power to fulfill his and his wife’s basic needs, while his son is forced to work by carrying heavy water containers from distribution stations to make earnings. These are used to purchase food resources and firewood for cooking, which are purportedly plentiful but quite expensive. *The aid that has been pouring in means that prices have gone down a bit, but it doesn't help much.” she commented* Through the window he could see the transportation of boxes and containers to the market while his surroundings were fully ruined. These statements were shocking news for the rest of the family as his relatives also returned to their respective houses, but they were stripped of all their belongings. Now, they are setting up their overheating tents on top of the crippled refugee camp that is blown away by the harsh winter winds. During the heavy rains, the camp was completely flooded. Many buildings were stripped down in its entirety leaving mutated pieces of metal and wood without a set location. Instead of chunks of metal, homeless are now living in the partially submerged area. The portions that are above the ground are covered by layers of flesh that steal oxygen and pacing the wreckage of abandoned buildings. Bouma was one of the first people to mark the Kamal Hospital Center on the map. It was built 2 kilometers far from her house. After what he witnessed, he decided that he does not want to walk the extra mile just to be angry toward humanity. He came across a hospital whose entrance was shattered to bits and pieces but most importantly, it was painted with the blood spilling out from the Skeletons of War. The last hope Berlin had was being blown to pieces by the hurricane while the mesmerized by the blood bath people beneath were freezing to death. The river was nothing but a fantasy in front of my eyes where all the survivors were swallowing mouthfuls of blood while being trapped in a mart to mow down the rest.

I could not come here because I dreaded it. I had imagined the aesthetics and warmth of my house. ... The 25 year old dentist said, Jaim, I was not ready to look at it this way. We are ‘Pole’ people with an identity, they do not only conquer stones, they conquer us too.

The family has to rebuild the house for the second time because it was blown to bits during the conflict between Israel and Hamas bombing in 2014, she mentioned. They do not for now have the proper resources to rebuild it.

We need to remove the rubble first because we want to recover some clothes and personal belongings. We require heavy machinery. There are no construction materials like bricks or other tools, and if there are, these are too costly for us to afford.

Desperation is intensifying.

Tess Ingram, a myunicef.org spokesperson who visited Gaza the north kids after the war ended, mentioned that the families she interacted with struggle with the life they wish to lead with children anew are trying to adjust to the new. 

She said that "It is becoming worse," referring to the negativity that surrounds us.

At 20 years old, student Huda Skaik shares a room with her parents and three siblings at her grandparent's house located in Gaza City. While previously she lived in a tent during a central Gaza camp in which most of the war took place, she describes this as an “improvement”. 

She elaborates further on this topic stating, “They were strangers, and their tent was washed away by rain. At least here they have walls and are with family." 

Skaik was studying English literature at Gaza's Islamic University when the war broke out. She is now forced to complete her classes online due to the circumstances, however, she expresses further concern over the state of the internet and solar energy. 

As she puts it, “She states, “The destruction is massive, but I'm trying to remain positive.” It is devastating to witness the destruction, but she expresses hope for what is next to come.