3 years on from Gaza war: 70% of homes still in ruins

Three years after the war in 2014, only one third of the 11,000 homes destroyed have been rebuilt, Wafa reported.

Many families continue to live in tents, according to a report by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) on the situation for civilians in Gaza.

I built a tent and stayed in it for three years, while waiting for Gaza to be rebuilt. We’re still living in it … We are alive now because death hasn’t bothered to take us yet. It will be way better for us to die, as we won’t face problems anymore

Thaer Al-Sheesh, a father of four living in Gaza, told NRC.

Read: Most Israelis believe next war will be with Hamas

On 8 July 2014 Israel launched a war on the Gaza Strip which led to the death of over 1,490 people, one third of whom were children, and destroyed or damaged hundreds of thousands of homes. Six Israelis were killed in the war, the majority soldiers.

“Palestinians in Gaza are still waiting for their homes to be rebuilt. 6,300 families remain displaced with no home to return to, in the absence of funding,” NRC´s Country Director in Jerusalem, Hanibal Abiy Worku said.