Name: Gazans pull iron bars from rubble to make tents
Uploaded: 2025-12-11T18:04:09.862Z
Duration: 2 min 17 s
Description: As winter bites in Gaza, displaced Palestinians set out every day to homes destroyed by Israel. There they rip out iron rods from the walls and use them to prop up their flimsy tents or sell to scratch out a living in an enclave that will take years to recover from war.

As winter bites in Gaza, displaced Palestinians set out every day to homes destroyed by Israel. There they rip out iron rods from the walls and use them to prop up their flimsy tents or sell to scratch out a living in an enclave that will take years to recover from war.

Sderot

The U.S-brokered ceasefire deal in Gaza is holding, after Hamas released the remaining Israeli hostages.

Middle East Conflict

Displaced residents in Gaza are salvaging iron rods from the rubble of homes destroyed by Israeli military action, using the materials to construct tents and shelters as winter sets in. The scarcity of building materials, which Israel classifies as dual-use items, has forced many to undertake labor-intensive work to obtain basic shelter, with some families unable to afford even salvaged iron.

Despite a ceasefire and international promises of economic aid, restrictions on construction materials remain in place until further phases of a US-led peace plan are implemented. Many Gazans continue to struggle with harsh living conditions, relying on the ruins of their former homes for survival.

Gazans pull iron bars from rubble to make tents

Displaced Gazans pound away at the rubble of homes destroyed by Israel, trying to extract the iron rods. Once, these bars held up cement walls in family homes. Today, they are desperately needed by the homeless to prop up tents and shelters ahead of a biting winter. Israel's military campaign spared few homes. Now the rods have become hot items in an enclave that will take years to rebuild from the war. Suleiman Al Arja describes a typical working day without chisels or cutters to break the concrete. We go around destroyed houses and agree with the house owner. He gives us a choice whether to clear the house rubble in exchange for iron or clear the house for money. We tell him we want the iron and we start breaking the iron. As you can see, we can take a week, a week and a half. Palestinians say they are forced into the back-breaking labour of foraging iron from the rubble because, despite a ceasefire, Israel will not allow building materials into Gaza. An Israeli official told Reuters that construction materials are considered dual-use items, items for civilian but also potentially military use, for building tunnels which have been used by Hamas. The official said they won't be allowed into Gaza until a second phase of a US-led peace plan. Nights are cold and heavy rainstorms have submerged many Gazans' meagre belongings, adding to their misery. A 10-metre metal rod costs displaced families $15, a steep amount when many barely have cash. Wa'el Al Jabra, a father of six, is reusing the bars from the ruins of the family home to fashion a tent. I don't have money to buy wood, of course, so I had to extract this iron from the house. The house is made of five floors. We don't have anything apart from God and this house that was sheltering us. US President Donald Trump has promised an economic development plan to rebuild and revitalise Gaza which was poor even before the war. Palestinians can't look so far ahead even though the ceasefire was reached in October. Every day is a struggle and for decades they have seen peace plans come and go.

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Gazans pull iron bars from rubble to make tents

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