UNRWA Rehabilitation of housing in Gaza

active

With around 2 million inhabitants on 365 km2 (5,800 people per km2), the Gaza Strip is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Around 1.4 million people (around 70% of the population) have been living in the Gaza Strip as UNRWA-registered refugees for more than 70 years. Their living situation is shaped by the ongoing conflict, which repeatedly escalates violently - most recently in May 2021 and August 2022 - and the 16-year-long blockade by Israel. In addition to the recurring escalations, the socio-economic crisis that has persisted for years has also had an impact on the living conditions of many residents of the Gaza Strip. In view of increasing poverty, population growth, rising costs for maintenance/repair and a simultaneous shortage of housing, the living and housing situation of many Palestine refugees has worsened immensely since 2014 and the renovation of well below average accommodation is an increasingly urgent need. The target group of the project are vulnerable Palestinian refugees in precarious housing conditions in the Gaza Strip. Families are prioritized according to their housing situation (technical/structural criteria) and based on multi-dimensional vulnerability criteria. In a first phase, around 220 of the neediest families are to be supported in the full rehabilitation of their housing units. The implementation of the measures is carried out independently by the beneficiaries (self-help) or their self-selected construction companies and tradesmen with financial support and close supervision by the project sponsor. The project sponsor is the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).