For nearly two years, fifty-four-year-old Ghassan Salam has spent most of his days searching for food, clean water, and whatever humanitarian aid he can find to keep his family alive.
Before Israel’s genocide in Gaza, Ghassan lived in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in northern Gaza City and worked in construction. The father of six left his home each morning carrying his tools, earning enough to provide for his family. Today, his tools lie unused.
Throughout the course of the war, Ghassan sustained leg and abdomen injuries that left him unable to return to the physically demanding work he had done all his life. But even if he did fully recover, he says, there is no job for him to return to. Cement, steel, gravel, and other construction materials needed to rebuild homes and other structures remain largely unavailable, blocked by Israel from entering Gaza.
As of October 2025, Israel’s war on Gaza damaged or destroyed 81 percent of structures in Gaza, according to the United Nations. That translates to nearly 200,000 affected structures that require some degree of repair or reconstruction—work that can’t be done until adequate materials are allowed in, Ghassan says. The United Nations reported in April 2026 that more than 1.2 million Palestinians in Gaza—more than half of the population—have lost their homes, and reconstructing Gaza’s housing sector will cost more than $16 billion.
In the absence of construction supplies, some Palestinians are cobbling together the limited materials available to try to rebuild. Some individuals have used clay to construct makeshift homes for themselves and their families, while others have turned to wood, reinforcing their worn-out tents by adding wooden structures to make them stronger and more durable. Still others use damaged cement that was imported before the war, despite its poor quality and high cost. But these materials are likely not durable.
“We don’t need more chips or chocolate,” Ghassan says. “We need cement, steel, medicine, and electricity. Give us the tools to rebuild our homes and provide for our families.”
Ghassan is among the 80 percent of Palestinians in Gaza struggling with unemployment amid a devastated economy. Nearly three-quarters of the population who were employed before Israel’s war on Gaza began have lost their jobs, according to the United Nations.
Like thousands of fathers across Gaza who have lost their livelihoods, Ghassan has become dependent on humanitarian aid to provide for his family. The aid helps his family survive, he says, but cannot replace the dignity that comes with earning a living.
“Without work, there is no life,” he says. “We appreciate the food aid, but we don’t want to spend the rest of our lives waiting for food parcels. A man feels his worth when he can work and provide for his children.”
Gaza’s skyrocketing cost of living has made life even harder. Even families with some amount of income struggle to buy basic necessities as prices remain far beyond what most people can afford. For Ghassan, the pain of unemployment is compounded by having to watch his family live in poor conditions.
“People are living in the streets and in burned tents,” he says. “There are rats, sewage, and diseases around us. This is not the life we want for our children. We want real homes—safe homes built with cement.” He adds, “I am tired of living this way.”
He explains that reopening the crossings to allow construction materials into Gaza would do far more than rebuild destroyed buildings. It would restore jobs, revive local businesses, and give families the chance to become self-reliant again instead of relying on what he calls charity.
“If the materials come in, our lives will change,” he says. “Builders, carpenters, electricians, and many others will be able to work again. We don’t want to depend on aid forever.”
Despite devastating circumstances, Ghassan remains steadfast in his hope for the future of Gaza.
“We want to work again,” he says. “We want our children to have a future. We will rebuild Gaza once again. We will not leave it like this.”