Gaza Under the Weight of War: Home Sales and Soaring Rents Exhaust Residents

Amid the ongoing Israeli genocidal war on the Gaza Strip and the worsening economic and living conditions, many Gazan families have been forced to sell their homes to secure food and drink for their children or purchase partially destroyed houses to escape soaring rental prices.

Citizens are enduring catastrophic conditions after more than 80% of homes were destroyed, coupled with a severe shortage of basic necessities. Rental prices have seen unprecedented spikes, compelling some families to make difficult choices for survival, including selling properties and buying damaged homes at low prices, then attempting to repair them through modest efforts.

Forty-year-old Ahmed Abu Shaban recounted his ordeal to the Palestinian agency “Safa,” explaining that he had to sell his apartment in Gaza’s Tel al-Hawa neighborhood to provide for his family. He noted that the offers he received were significantly below the apartment’s actual value, stating, “I preferred to have money to secure food rather than stay in my home with nothing to eat.”

Nasreen Faris, a fifty-year-old woman, was forced to buy a damaged house in Beit Lahia after losing her home, fleeing rental prices that can reach $600 to $1,000 per apartment. She emphasized, “A concrete roof is better than a tent roof” under the ongoing war.

According to Safa, Gazans are increasingly turning to purchasing bomb-damaged apartments at cheaper prices to shelter their families amid harsh living conditions, hunger, and the absence of basic services.