KHAN YUNIS: In southern Gaza, aid workers are meticulously assembling fiberglass homes meant to shelter thousands of Palestinians still displaced six months after a ceasefire started between Israel and Hamas. Nearly two million people in Gaza are living in makeshift shelters, and the humanitarian situation remains dire, according to aid agencies.The fiberglass units are designed to offer a modicum of relief &mdash; homes with slightly more comfort than a tent vulnerable to the coastal winds that hit Gaza. Alessandro Markic, head of the United Nations Development Programme office in Gaza, initiated the plan. He said families &ldquo;are facing extremely difficult conditions.&rdquo; Roughly 4,000 units are planned in the Al-Mohararat area, west of Khan Younis. Workers assemble walls, install small windows, and lay roofs for families who try to settle in with rugs and cushions inside. &ldquo;These are very basic and temporary solutions, while we continue to plan for recovery and reconstruction,&rdquo; Markic said. The homes, he added, &ldquo;provide more dignity, privacy, and protection during the winter.&rdquo; Some Gazans were visibly relieved to have an alternative to the tents where most displaced people continue to live. Nasma Sharab has moved into one unit with her sons, and affirmed it was &ldquo;better&rdquo; than a tent. The fiberglass homes &ldquo;don&rsquo;t constantly blow away in the wind,&rdquo; she said. But, she added, &ldquo;it&rsquo;s a temporary solution while we wait for reconstruction to begin and for people to be able to go back to their homes.&rdquo; Among those who remain in a tent is Ali Abu Nahl, in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, after being displaced to the center and south of the territory with his children and grandchildren. His house was destroyed during the devastating conflict that erupted with the Hamas attacks on Israel in October 2023. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s been half a year since the bombing stopped, but in Gaza, the war doesn&rsquo;t end when the strikes stop,&rdquo; he said.

Middle East

Six months after a ceasefire, displaced Palestinians in Khan Younis are moving into fiberglass shelters built by aid workers, offering modest protection from harsh conditions while thousands still await reconstruction, stability, and a return to permanent homes.

In Gaza, fiberglass homes aim to offer more ‘dignity’ for displaced

<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 600; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: capitalize; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: nowrap; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; float: none; display: inline !important;" id="isPasted">NUSEIRAT:&nbsp;Gaza&#39;s civil defence agency said Friday that Israeli forces have begun pulling back from parts of the territory, particularly in Gaza City and Khan Yunis. &quot;Israeli forces have withdrawn from several areas in Gaza City,&quot; said Mohammed al-Mughayyir, a senior official with the agency -- a rescue force that operates under Hamas authority. Among the districts from which troops were withdrawing were Tel al-Hawa and Al-Shati camp, both of which had seen intense Israeli air and ground operations in recent weeks. Mughayyir also said Israeli military vehicles pulled out from parts of the southern city of Khan Yunis. Residents of several areas of the Gaza Strip also told AFP that the Israeli military appeared to have withdrawn from positions that they held on Thursday. Israeli government spokeswoman Shosh Bedrosian told journalists on Thursday that Israel&#39;s military would be redeployed to the so-called Yellow Line, as they gradually withdraw under a plan proposed by US President Donald Trump. During this first part of the withdrawal process, the military will still hold about 53 percent of the Gaza Strip. Jets flying low&nbsp;Mughayyir said that fighting was ongoing. &quot;Gunfire has not stopped at all until this moment. The Israeli army also targeted Gaza municipality crews north of (Gaza City&#39;s) Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood&quot;, Mughayyir said, adding that one city worker had been killed by Israeli fire. Mughayyir told AFP that another man was killed by Israeli fire in Khan Yunis on Friday.&nbsp;Mahmud Bassal, civil defence spokesman, said Israeli fighter jets were flying low over Gaza on Friday. Bassal said his teams reported air strikes and artillery shelling in the north, particularly in Gaza City, where the Israeli military had launched a major offensive before the ceasefire.&nbsp;He said Israeli forces also launched smoke bombs in Khan Yunis. An AFP video journalist filming Gaza from Israel reported large plumes of smoke and dust rising above northern Gaza on Friday morning. Contacted by AFP, the Israeli military said it was checking reports of bombardments on Gaza. On Friday, the military said its southern command troops were &quot;in the midst of adjusting operational positions in the Gaza Strip&quot;. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu&#39;s office said early on Friday that the government had approved the framework of a hostage release deal with Hamas.

Israel began withdrawing troops from parts of Gaza City and Khan Yunis, according to Gaza’s civil defence agency, though airstrikes and shelling continued as Israeli forces adjusted positions across the territory.

Articles tagged with "Khan Yunis"

In Gaza, fiberglass homes aim to offer more ‘dignity’ for displaced

Israeli forces pulling back from several areas: Gaza civil defence