PHOTO ESSAY: The Palestinian families trying to rebuild their lives in the ruins of Gaza

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GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Halawa family’s building still rises two stories above the rubble in Gaza City, a small miracle after two years of Israeli airstrikes wrought heavy damage on homes across the Palestinian territory.

One section of the building has collapsed, and bent metal rods jut out from where a roof once stood. A narrow set of creaking wooden steps built by the family lead up to their home, threatening to collapse at any moment.

But even in the debris, it’s still home.

The war began with Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack, in which around 1,200 people in Israel were killed and over 250 others taken hostage. Israel’s ensuing offensive in Gaza has killed tens of thousands of people, caused widespread destruction and displaced most of the territory’s 2 million residents.

The close of this year has brought some relief, with a ceasefire brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump in October. But reconstruction has not begun and is expected to take years. Now, as the ceasefire moves into 2026, families like the Halawas are trying to rebuild their lives as best they can.

The family fled home three months after the war broke out. They returned in the tenuous calm that has taken hold during the truce. Like many, the family of seven said living in the ruins felt preferable to tents, especially as winter rains began.

In one damaged room, Amani Halawa heated a small tin of coffee over a fire as thin rays of light slipped through concrete chunks. Halawa, her husband, Mohammed, and their children have repaired what they could using scraps of concrete, while hanging backpacks from exposed metal rods and lining the kitchen floor with pots and pans.

The walls of the home are adorned with a painted tree and messages to loved ones they have been separated from by the war.

In damaged apartments across Gaza City, daily routines continue, even as families lie awake at night, worried that the walls may collapse on top of them. Health officials say at least 11 people have been killed in building collapses in just one week in December.

In her home, Sahar Taroush swept dust off carpets placed over the rubble. The face of her daughter Bisan was lit by the glow of a computer screen as she watched a movie next to gaping holes in the wall.

On the cracked wall of another building, a family hung a torn photo of their grandfather on horseback from his time in the Palestinian Authority's security services in the 1990s. Not far away, a man rested on a bed teetering on the edge of a damaged balcony, scrolling on his phone above the shattered Al-Karama neighborhood.

With so much uncertainty ahead, families are trying to restore even the smallest sense of familiarity to homes that no longer fully exist.

This is a documentary photo story curated by AP photo editors.

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