Middle East visit Germany is providing temporary shelters for Gaza

    Press release 26 August 2025 | German Development Minister Reem Alabali Radovan, who is on a visit to the Middle East, has pledged support for the people in Gaza. The planned assistance will consist of temporary shelters, repair work on water pipes and schools, and cash-for-work programmes for short-term jobs. The measures are part of an “Early Recovery” package meant to enable the rebuilding of Gaza once a permanent ceasefire is in place.

    Minister Alabali Radowan said, “Families need a roof over their heads, children need a bed and somewhere to wash themselves. We want to help turn the rubble back into homes. That will require a permanent ceasefire – the Israeli government must stop the fighting, Hamas must lay down its weapons and unconditionally release the hostages.”

    The modular shelters have already been ordered and are to be sent to Gaza as soon as the situation permits. Every family will receive two units, each of them with 17.5 square metres of living space. Two families will share sanitation facilities. Twenty families will share a kitchen and a communal room. Initially the shelters are intended to provide accommodation for 400 particularly affected families. The extent of the destruction in Gaza – where 92 per cent of all homes have either been destroyed or are uninhabitable – means that almost everyone is either sleeping in tents or in the open.

    Until a permanent ceasefire has been agreed, Germany is supporting smaller scale relief projects, such as psychosocial counselling, support for people with disabilities, WASH (water, sanitation, hygiene) measures and cash-for-work jobs such as clearing away rubble or in the education and health sectors. Once the situation has stabilised, more long-term housing solutions, assistance for the water and the electricity supply, and for the education and health sectors will follow.

    In Ramallah, the Minister had meetings with the Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority, Mohammad Mustafa, and with other Ministers. She talked with them about rebuilding Gaza and about its political future. Tomorrow she will travel to Israel and from there to Jordan and Saudi Arabia.