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UN PhotoGAZA / YELLOW LINE DISPLACED POPULATION
STORY: GAZA / YELLOW LINE DISPLACED POPULATION
TRT: 05:59
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ARABIC / NATS
DATELINE: 05 APRIL 2026, GAZA CITY
1. Various shots, destruction, Jabalia Palestinian refugee camp
2. Various shots, yellow concrete blocks placed as boundaries marking what is known as ‘Yellow Line’
3. Various shots, destruction, al-Tuffah neighborhood
4. Various shots, Mohammed al-Jathbah amid his destroyed home’s rubble trying to salvage concrete stones for reuse, al-Tuffah neighborhood
5. Various shots, Mohammed al-Jathbah building house using rubble of his destroyed home and mud
6. Various shots, Mohammed al-Jathbah preparing mixture for construction, made of mud and hair collected from barbershops
7. Various shots, Mohammed al-Jathbah building house using rubble of his destroyed home and mud
8. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mohammed al-Jathbah, Palestinian:
“We are less than one kilometer away from what is known as the Yellow Line, and my home was destroyed in the war. As you know, for the past two years we have been living in different kinds of tents. These tents wear out and no longer protect us from anything, so I decided to build this place, especially after my mother was injured two weeks ago. That is when I decided to make use of whatever could be salvaged from our destroyed home. As you can see, the entire area around us is just rubble.”
9. Various shots, destruction
10. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mohammed al-Jathbah, Palestinian:
“I am simply trying to place one stone on top of another. The iron being used here was left over from a poultry farm I used to have, so I tried to make use of what remained of the farm. As you can see, there are also remnants of metal sheets on the roof, and I will still need plastic coverings and many other additions. But even so, all of this is still easier and better than living in a tent. If a stray bullet comes, these stones might offer us at least some minimal protection. It is still better than fabric, and it also provides a degree of privacy. As you know, we are close to the Yellow Line, and we are trying to protect ourselves. I am trying to collect building stones from my destroyed house, and I have to take risks under the rubble in order to retrieve them. I also collect mud, because there is no cement—it has not entered Gaza for more than two and a half years—and there is no gypsum either. I also have to go to barbershops to collect leftover hair to mix with the mud, and I bring herbs as well. We are forced to mix all these materials together, along with the stones we pull from the rubble, in order to build, as you can see, a number of rooms. Even the kitchen has been built using small pieces of marble salvaged from the destroyed house. Every morning, I come here to take what I would call a dose of sorrow in front of my destroyed home, and to salvage whatever stones can still be reused.”
9. Various shots, Mohammed al-Jathbah carrying out construction work
10. Various shots, Mohammed al-Jathbah building kitchen inside his new makeshift home
11. Various shots, Mohammed al-Jathbah carrying out construction work
Less than one kilometer from the ‘Yellow Line,’ Mohammed al-Jathbah works to piece together a makeshift shelter atop the ruins of his destroyed home, using stones pulled from the rubble, mud, and scraps of metal, as cement and other construction materials remain largely unavailable.
Incidents of gunfire, shelling, and limited incursions have continued near the ‘Yellow Line,’ the separation zone near the border with Israel, keeping any return highly dangerous.
With the amount of available space shrinking, thousands of families have been forced to return to the edges of their destroyed neighborhoods near the ‘Yellow Line,’ despite what residents say is the continued risk of injury or death from intermittent fire.
For nearly 30 months, most of Gaza’s population has been living under harsh displacement conditions, in tents and temporary shelters that offer little protection from heat and cold, while also lacking privacy and safety.
Shortages of shelter materials, construction supplies, and fuel continue to severely limit families’ ability to improve their living conditions.
On the outskirts of the al-Tuffah neighborhood, east of Gaza City, and less than one kilometer from the ‘Yellow Line,’ Mohammed al-Jathbah is trying to build a rudimentary shelter on the ruins of his destroyed home, using stones pulled from the rubble, mud, and scraps of metal, amid a total lack of cement and other construction materials.
Standing amid the wreckage, al-Jathbah said: “We are less than one kilometer away from what is known as the Yellow Line, and my home was destroyed in the war. For the past two years, we have been living in tents that are wearing out and no longer protect us from anything.”
He added that his mother being struck by a bullet while sitting inside her tent pushed him to decide to build a more solid shelter, even if only with primitive means.
He said, “Two weeks ago, my mother was injured, so I decided to make use of whatever I could salvage from our destroyed home. The whole area around us is rubble... I am trying to place one stone on top of another.”
Al-Jathbah is using leftover metal sheets he had kept from a former poultry farm, along with mud, herbs, and hair collected from barbershops, mixing them into makeshift building material in an attempt to construct several small rooms and a modest kitchen.”
He said, “There is no cement and no gypsum, and these materials have not entered Gaza for more than two and a half years. We are forced to mix mud with hair and herbs, along with the stones we extract from the rubble, in order to build.”
He added, “Even if a stray bullet comes, these stones may offer us at least some small degree of protection. It is still better than cloth, and it also gives us some privacy.”
Al-Jathbah says he returns every morning to the site of his destroyed home “to take a dose of sorrow,” as he puts it, before beginning to collect whatever stones, marble fragments, and metal pieces can still be salvaged, to rebuild enough for a more bearable life.
Currently, 127 UNRWA facilities are located within the Israeli-militarised zone behind the so-called “Yellow Line” and in areas where access is subject to Israeli approval or coordination.
The United Nations says that continued restrictions on the entry of essential supplies, together with widespread damage to housing and infrastructure, continue to hamper humanitarian recovery across Gaza, while shelter and protection needs remain among the most urgent.
