Their homes are unsafe without roofs, doors or windows, in addition to 2000,<> houses that are still destroyed.

120,<> Palestinians in Gaza live in "sardine cans"

  • Mohammed Abu Arab next to his house. Emirates Today

  • In Jabalia refugee camp, residents lack infrastructure. Emirates Today

  • There are no scenes of a safe and dignified life in the Gaza camps. Emirates Today

  • Desperate scenes of life in Gaza. Emirates Today

  • The boys' house is narrowing with his family members. Emirates Today

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In the Beach refugee camp, west of Gaza City, Ahmad al-Fitiani, 58, and his family of six live in a one-room house and a small hall only, while his eldest son and his family of five share the second floor, also consisting of a room and a hall, of the small, cramped house.

The boys, who suffer from chronic diseases, and do not have a stable source of income through which to face the deterioration of his living condition, have been living in this house for 38 years, which narrows him and his family members with the succession of years of life, until his wish became to add one room to his house, to be free from the «sardine can» in which he lives, as he described, during his conversation with «Emirates Today».

The boys' house is adjacent to small houses adjacent to each other, in the "supply" area, within the narrow alleys of the camp, which prevents the availability of many windows and large size, allowing sunlight and air to reach members of his family, and his son's family, while the door of the house is made of corroded iron, which does not stand in front of the leakage of rats and insects to the corners of his only shelter.

Unprotected houses

What the boys complain about applies to the 120,360 Palestinians inside Gaza's borders, living in unsafe homes, without roofs, doors or windows, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council, and living within an area of <> square kilometers, a highly overcrowded area, given its population of two and a half million Palestinians.

According to a detailed statement issued by the Norwegian Council on the reality of unprotected homes in Gaza, about 2000,<> homes are still destroyed, due to the escalating Israeli military operations over the past years.

Hudhaifa Yaziji, director of the Gaza area at the Norwegian Refugee Council, said construction materials are hardly available in the local market, and most residents cannot afford the necessary repairs to their homes, as a result of deteriorating living conditions.

Lasting misery

Beach camp, which is the third largest of the eight refugee camps in the Gaza Strip, is home to more than 85,<> refugees, while the vast majority of its residents spend their daily lives in the same manner as the Norwegian Council, inside the most densely populated camps, which makes them lose a safe and dignified life.

Mohammed Abu Arab, 61, who lives near the main street of the seashore, lives with his nine family members in a house topped with old corroded tiles, and its dilapidated wooden windows can no longer protect him from the winter cold and rain, as well as the high summer heat.

Abu Arab does not have the price of a new roof and windows, which is why he is installing nylon as an alternative to the old wooden windows, which are 20 years old, he said.

Abu Arab told Emirates Today, in an angry voice, "I barely provide food and drink for my family, as well as medicine for my sick mother, and therefore owning the price of new wood windows, or aluminum and glass, is very difficult, and even alternative nylon, its price of 70 shekels is enough to secure my family's livelihood for a whole week, which I have only with difficulty, as I spend the whole day working in the field of construction."

"My work is irregular, given the construction materials crisis in besieged Gaza, and I end up earning only 20 shekels, for working 12 hours straight, and more, most of the time," the Palestinian refugee said.

A more difficult life

To the north of the Gaza Strip is Jabalia refugee camp, the largest of Gaza's refugee camps, home to more than 114,1 refugees, within an area of 4.<> square kilometers.

According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), the Israeli blockade of Gaza has made life more difficult for almost all refugees in Jabalia camp, as unemployment rates have risen dramatically among its residents and few families can support themselves.

UNRWA indicates on its official website that a large proportion of the residents of Jabalya camp, who were able to support themselves, have become dependent on the food and cash assistance it provides to refugees to cover basic food needs, in various camps and areas of Gaza, which suffer from a state of permanent misery, without interruption.

Jabalya camp, like other refugee camps in Gaza, suffers from a crisis of power outages, high population density, which forces residents to build unorganized, and 90% of water sources are contaminated, making them unfit for human consumption, according to UNRWA.

According to a detailed statement issued by the Norwegian Council on the reality of unprotected homes in Gaza, about 2000,<> homes are still destroyed, due to the escalating Israeli military operations over the past years.

Mohammed Abu Arab:

"I barely provide food and drink for my family, as well as medicine for my sick mother, so it is very difficult to afford new wood windows."