Gaza Strip - Oct 15, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Various of rubble of destroyed buildings, makeshift workshop on roadside
2. Various of people working on salvaged constriction materials to build winter shelter; secured rebar used to build tent
3. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Bassam, Gaza resident:
"Right now, what I make most are cabinets, because people need places to store their clothes and belongings. We make cabinets and add shelves. If a family's finances improve a little and they have some spare money, they might order a kitchen shelf -- usually very small, to fit the space inside the tent."
4. Various of rubble of destroyed buildings, tent, salvaged constriction materials
5. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Bassam, Gaza resident (partially overlaid with shot 6):
"We face a severe shortage of materials and equipment because these things are simply unavailable. Tools like shears and hammers are very hard to get, and we don't have a proper workspace dedicated to working with iron. As for welding, I can't use an electric welder because of the power outages, so we can only rely on wire to tie and secure things -- whether we're making tents or other items, that's the only method we can think of. But this method is clearly not as good as electric welding."
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6. People combing through rubble in search of constriction materials
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7. Various of rubble of destroyed buildings, newly built shelter, man checking shelter
8. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Khamis, displaced Gazan:
"We had no other choice at the time. The rebar was buried in our destroyed house, so we smashed the original roof and pulled it out. There's no wood here, and even if there were, the price would be extremely high. Nails and other materials have also become very expensive. So, we had to use the rebar we had, straighten it, measure it to size, build a frame and cover it with tarpaulin, before we can live inside it."
9. Various of people trying to salvage construction materials from rubble

With winter approaching and construction materials scarce, displaced families in war-torn Gaza are turning to the rubble of their own destroyed homes for the steel they need to raise tents and make basic furnishings.

According to the International Organization for Migration, nearly all of Gaza's population -- more than 2 million people -- still require shelter assistance a year after a ceasefire was announced between Israel and Hamas, while the combined supply pipeline of humanitarian shelter partners covers barely 17 percent of identified winter needs.

Ordinary building materials such as cement, timber and nails are tightly restricted from entering the enclave and prices have soared several times over, making rebuilding through normal channels impossible.

In an open-air makeshift workshop surrounded by ruins in central Gaza, people with building experience straighten salvaged rebar by hand, stripping off concrete, discarding damaged sections and cutting the bars to size, to make stoves, bed frames, small tables and metal cabinets for displaced families in need of protection from the elements.

"Right now, what I make most are cabinets, because people need places to store their clothes and belongings. We make cabinets and add shelves. If a family's finances improve a little and they have some spare money, they might order a kitchen shelf -- usually very small, to fit the space inside the tent," said Bassam, a Gaza resident.

But the work is hampered by electricity cuts and severe shortages. With the enclave under a near-total power outage, Bassam's workshop cannot use electric welding and has no heavy machinery to rely on.

"We face a severe shortage of materials and equipment because these things are simply unavailable. Tools like shears and hammers are very hard to get, and we don't have a proper workspace dedicated to working with iron. As for welding, I can't use an electric welder because of the power outages, so we can only rely on wire to tie and secure things -- whether we're making tents or other items, that's the only method we can think of. But this method is clearly not as good as electric welding," Bassam said.

For Khamis, a displaced Gazan, the ruins of his former home became his source for construction materials. After the conflict broke out, he and his family spent a long time crowded into a tent less than 10 square meters. He returned to his destroyed house not to rebuild it, but to extract the rebar buried in its concrete. Part of his old home now shelters his family from summer heat and winter rain.

"We had no other choice at the time. The rebar was buried in our destroyed house, so we smashed the original roof and pulled it out. There's no wood here, and even if there were, the price would be extremely high. Nails and other materials have also become very expensive. So, we had to use the rebar we had, straighten it, measure it to size, build a frame and cover it with tarpaulin, before we can live inside it," he said.

The steel bars that once held up the roof of Khamis's home now hold up the roof of his tent shelter -- a small act of salvage in a place where reconstruction remains far out of reach.