In Pictures

Gallery|Humanitarian Crises

In Pictures: The remnants of Gaza

Israel’s bombardment of Gaza has ended, but many Palestinians must now tackle the challenge of rebuilding from rubble.

A boy plays at a water pump in central Gaza City.
By Eduardo Soteras Jalil
Published On 7 Oct 2014

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Weeks after Israel ended its bombardment of Gaza, Palestinian residents have started coming back to what remains of their homes and livelihoods. Operation Protective Edge reduced entire neighbourhoods to rubble, flattened iconic buildings and killed more than 2,000 people.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, more than 100,000 people were displaced within Gaza, some of whom have been forced to shelter in schools for months, living on scarce food rations amid unhygienic conditions. Many were left with little more than the clothes on their backs after fleeing their homes.

Conditions inside these shelters deteriorate daily, prompting families to venture back to whatever remains of their homes. In some cases, families have erected small huts over the rubble. They lack basic services, such as water and electricity – but even as winter edges nearer, there is no clear solution in sight.

A young man sits outside a United Nations refugee agency school in Tel el Hawa, Gaza City.
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One of Gaza(***)s 100,000 internally displaced residents carries water at the school where he has found shelter.
Daily rations of bread are doled out to families sheltering at the school.
Khaled Khalil El Abed, 49, pictured at right, is a welder, and he lost both his workshop and his three-storey house during the Israeli bombardment.
A fuel tank at the Gaza Electrical Plant was destroyed in the bombing campaign.
Artist Raed Issa lost his home and his workshop, including a large collection of his own work, during the Gaza offensive.
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Naddar Hayyela, a 30-year-old father of eight, kisses his newborn daughter Gaza, who was born during the war. Originally from the hard-hit Shujayea district, Hayyela(***)s family took shelter in a UN-managed school.
The Hamza mosque site in the Tel El Hawa neighbourhood of Gaza City was severely damaged.
Mohamad Sami Abu Zar, 23, rests in the classroom where his family is sheltered, alongside another family.
Children spend time together outside the school in the Tel el Hawa neighbourhood of Gaza City.
Young Gazans read from the Quran in front of the remains of a mosque in Dwar Abu Mazen, central Gaza.
Youssuf Adel Halej, 12, inspects the remains of his home in Shujayea. 
The densely populated Shujayea district came under intense bombardment during the Israeli operation.
Residents line up at an ATM in central Gaza City.