Gaza City, Gaza Strip – On top of the rubble of a destroyed building, Ibrahim Abu al-Eish is busy clearing stones and collapsed roofing to prepare the way for a bulldozer that will remove what remains of the building.
Ibrahim, 24 years old, starts his day in the early hours of the morning and works until evening, employed as a labourer with a local contracting company clearing debris from buildings destroyed during Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.
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He began working in this field after a ceasefire began in October, as some local efforts began in Gaza – devastated by more than two years of war – to remove rubble, reopen roads, and eliminate hazards in unstable structures.
Ibrahim is happy to have work as Gaza’s economic crisis, brought on by the war, continues. But the accounting graduate says the work is extremely difficult, and unsafe.
“It’s very exhausting work. I never imagined in my life that I would work in such a profession,” Ibrahim told Al Jazeera, taking a few minutes to rest before continuing.
“I’ve been injured several times, and once a colleague had part of a house roof collapse on him and was seriously hurt,” he added.
Despite this, Ibrahim finds himself forced to endure the harsh and dangerous challenges of his job due to the heavy responsibilities he carries.
He supports a family of nine, including his parents and siblings, who are living in difficult conditions in a displacement camp in Jabalia, in northern Gaza.
“What I earn does not exceed 80 shekels ($27) a day… but compared to the level of fatigue and exhaustion I face, it’s a small amount and doesn’t even cover the basic needs of my family amid these harsh conditions and soaring prices,” he added.
Conditions in Gaza have created an extremely difficult work environment for labourers, most of whom lost their jobs and trades during the war and have turned to any available opportunity, no matter how low the pay or how high the risks.
“There is no safety at all in the work environment, but nothing comes easy these days,” Ibrahim said.
Darkest moments
This year’s International Workers’ Day – marked on Friday, May 1 – comes as Gaza continues to go through one of its darkest moments, amid a war that has been ongoing since October 2023, leaving the economy and labour market struggling.
Hundreds of thousands of workers find themselves without jobs, while those who do have them earn barely enough to get by.
In data released to coincide with International Workers’ Day, the Gaza Ministry of Labour said that unemployment in Gaza had surged recently and had now reached 80 percent, with more than 250,000 workers in Gaza losing their jobs during the war.
Poverty rates have risen to exceed 93 percent in Gaza, with more than 75 percent facing acute food insecurity.
Restrictions imposed on the work of humanitarian organisations have also worsened the crisis, particularly as more than 95 percent of the population are now reliant on humanitarian aid, including a wide segment of workers who have completely lost their sources of income.
The ministry warned that a continued lack of jobs will deepen economic stagnation, reduce operational capacity, and erode chances of recovery unless Israel’s blockade of Gaza is lifted, crossings are opened, and productive sectors are enabled to resume work.
Harsh livelihood
Yousef al-Rifi, 32, works at a temporary bakery set up along the side of a road in central Gaza City.
Before the war, Yousef owned a small bakery in partnership with his father and his brothers in the east of the city, but it was completely destroyed during the war, along with the family home.
Following that loss, Yousef spent two years without a source of income to support his wife and two children, until he began working recently at the roadside bakery.
“I work here at this bakery with a small number of workers… I have previous experience in baking, but nothing resembles my work before the war,” Yousef told Al Jazeera.
He said that the impact of the war has not just been limited to work and living conditions; he described it as having executed any hope he had for the future.
“I’ve been working here from six in the morning until late evening for 50 shekels ($17) a day, sometimes less, under the heat of the sun in makeshift tents,” he said. “Work is inconsistent… there are days when the bakery doesn’t operate due to fluctuations in flour and bread prices and their unavailability.”
What Yousef earns is not enough to cover his children’s and family’s expenses, forcing him to borrow from those around him to meet his needs. At times, he has had to sell essential belongings just to obtain money.
“I sold my mobile phone and my wife’s phone to secure food and drink… what I earn barely covers my children’s meals,” he added.
Yousef, and many workers like him, have little hope that their situation will improve. But ultimately, they have to work in whatever job they can find, due to the absence of alternatives in Gaza.
“A worker must strive to earn a living,” he said. “This is our reality… a livelihood that is harsh, unforgiving, and soaked in blood.”