{
  "id": 9288589,
  "title": "With reconstruction stalled, Gazans shelter in buildings at risk of collapse",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/23/with-reconstruction-stalled-gazans-shelter-in-buildings-at-risk-of-9288589",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-23T06:32:29.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Dawn",
    "slug": "dawn",
    "url": "https://www.dawn.com/news/2032048/with-reconstruction-stalled-gazans-shelter-in-buildings-at-risk-of-collapse"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In Gaza City, residents like Heba Arafat are compelled to live in buildings that are at risk of collapse due to the ongoing Israeli airstrikes. Arafat's apartment building in Gaza City's Al-Shati Refugee Camp collapsed inward at the ground floor after an Israeli ground operation in the area. Arafat's family of eight now shares a four-storey building with 30 other people. The windows have been destroyed by blasts and makeshift bedsheets are spread across the frames, providing little privacy. The danger of living in these affected buildings has become even greater than initially thought. The UN estimates that 84% of all structures in Gaza were damaged or destroyed by October 2025, with 2,000 buildings at risk of collapse. Despite the hazardous living conditions, many displaced people prefer to stay in these buildings rather than the overcrowded and unsafe camps, where diseases like impetigo are rampant due to lack of waste disposal and general overcrowding. However, reconstruction efforts are stalled, with Israel restricting the entry of equipment needed for the territory's vast reconstruction needs. The UN estimates that Gaza will require $71.4 billion in recovery and reconstruction spending over the next decade.",
  "summary": "In her Gaza City apartment, Heba Arafat walks uphill across a living room slanted at a steep angle after Israeli airstrikes caused the building’s foundations to collapse, leaving the entire structure tilted. Like thousands of people in Gaza, Arafat chose to risk living in an apartment building damaged during nearly three years of Israel’s military actions, with countless Israeli airstrikes on the…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Al-Monitor",
        "title": "With reconstruction stalled, Gazans shelter in buildings at risk of collapse",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/23/with-reconstruction-stalled-gazans-shelter-in-buildings-at-risk-of",
        "published": "2026-09-23T03:30:25.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "With reconstruction stalled, Gazans shelter in buildings at risk of collapse",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/23/with-reconstruction-stalled-gazans-shelter-in-buildings-at-risk-of-9269775",
        "published": "2026-09-23T04:16:03.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}