Displaced Palestinians take shelter in destroyed buildings amid Israeli strikes

Displaced Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip are now taking shelter in damaged buildings, even though it further endangers their safety in the face of imminent collapse of such structures.

According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), by the end of January, up to 1.7 million people -- more than 75 percent of the Gaza Strip's population -- were displaced across the territory.

In a previous statement, UNRWA had said more than 60 percent of buildings in Gaza are estimated to have been damaged by Israeli bombardment.

Among the destroyed walls of a primary UN school located in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, Palestinian families take shelter in damaged or destroyed buildings, as they have run out of safe shelter options.

The school has been under heavy Israeli bombings over the past few weeks. Following the withdrawal of the Israeli army, Palestinian families took shelter in the school, making it their new home.

Palestinians living in Gaza are running out of sheltering choices: the intact schools are full, the tents are not strong enough to protect them from the rain, and these partly destroyed buildings are the last option.

"Our six-story house in the north was bombed and 42 people lie dead under the rubble. We have not been able to reach them. We were displaced to the city of Khan Yunis first, then, we fled to the city of Rafah after the Israeli tanks stormed in. We found no shelter for ourselves except under the rubble. It's a very unsafe place, but we have no other choice," said Safwat Shabat, a displaced Palestinian.

ME