Abeer Ayyoub

Special for USA TODAY

GAZA CITY — For the past two years, Iftetah Amsha, 50, has been sharing a hot, cramped mobile home with her husband and 10 children. Their house was destroyed during the 50-day war with Israel that ended two years ago this month. "I don’t know when I will get out of here," she said.

The conflict left 18,000 housing units destroyed or damaged, according to the United Nations. Fewer than 4,500 have been reconstructed and more than 13,000 families remain displaced in this crowded strip of land along Israel’s southwestern border.

Palestinian Housing and Public Works Minister Mofeed Al-Hasayneh said delays in international aid are partly to blame. Only 30% of $5.4 billion pledged for the Palestinians at an October 2014 donors conference in Cairo has arrived, mainly from Europe, he said.

Squeezed by the low price of oil, Gulf states such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar have delayed billions in payments. In addition, the United States has been slow to disperse aid to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank because of concerns the money could reach Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist group that governs Gaza.

Adding to Gaza's aid woes, the international charity World Vision has suspended its Gaza program amid accusations by Israel that the group's Gaza director funneled $7.2 million a year to Hamas for five years. Germany and Australia also suspended donations to World Vision in Gaza, according to The Associated Press.

Israeli restrictions on Gaza's imports of construction materials are another factor slowing reconstruction here, Hasayna added. Residents such as Amsha have been trying to register to receive construction materials to rebuild the family home, but the wait is long.

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"If the process keeps moving this slowly, Gaza would need three more years to be totally reconstructed,’’ Hasayna complained.

A September 2014 agreement brokered by the United Nations was supposed to ease Israeli restrictions on allowing building materials through so they won't be used for military purposes, such as constructing tunnels or weapons storage facilities. Israel, however, continues to detect new tunnels being built by Hamas, which used them to smuggle supplies, weapons and fighters to attack Israel during the war, which began July 8, 2014.

Even as Palestinians complain about Israeli restrictions, some also blame Hamas' slow efforts to rebuild the Mediterranean coastal enclave of 1.8 million.

Hussien Hameed Zwaidy, 36, lost all five of his brothers and sisters in an Israeli airstrike during the war, and he now struggles to look after their children and his own. Between Hamas’ inefficient bureaucracy and Israeli hurdles, he says has no idea when he’ll be able to rebuild his two-story home.

"I’m here fighting to reconstruct the house and take care of my children along with their (siblings') orphans," he said.

Like many others displaced in Gaza, Zwaidy receives $200 a month from the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees to help him meet costs until he can return home.

The housing shortage is one of many problems compounded by the war, which the U.N. estimates killed nearly 2,200 Palestinians, roughly 70% of them civilians, and 71 Israelis, including five civilians. Even before the conflict, which destroyed much of the territory's infrastructure, power shortages have been common since Israel hit the main power plant in 2007.

The World Bank said last year that Gaza had the world's highest unemployment rate at 43%. Nearly 80% of the population receives some form of social assistance.

In the Shejaayaa district, Vivian Aamer Hatehat, 32, recounted her losses as she sat on the ground in a makeshift shelter near the rubble of her home.

"I still can’t believe it. I lost my home, memories, money. I'm not even sure I will ever be back there,’’ she said over tea with her seven children and two sisters who came to visit. "At least I got the television. My children are displaced, but they still can watch cartoons.’’

Hatehat's home was among dozens destroyed when the neighborhood was hit by shelling and airstrikes.

The war erupted after three Israeli teenagers were kidnapped and killed by two men with suspected links to Hamas. That prompted an Israeli crackdown. Hamas responded by firing rockets into Israel, and the Israeli military launched airstrikes and a ground offensive to destroy the rockets and tunnels.

Hopes have been raised that an agreement last month between Israel and Turkey could alleviate Gaza's woes. Turkey has begun to send aid, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country will help restore Gaza’s power lines and improve water supplies, housing and health care.

Still, the Turkish help is unlikely to end the suffering of Amsha and her family any time soon. The noisy trailer is "either too cold or severely hot," she said. "I wish I could leave tomorrow.’’