【AI前沿】Gaza Is Rebuilding With Lego-Like Bricks Made From Rubble

Hassan HerzallahGearMay 17, 2026 5:00 AMGaza Is Rebuilding With Lego-Like Bricks Made From RubbleAs reconstruction materials remain blocked, Palestinians are crushing debris into interlocking blocks to build shelters from destruction.ILLUSTRATION: WIRED MIDDLE EAST STAFF; GETTY IMAGESCommentLoaderSave StorySave this storyCommentLoaderSave StorySave this storyInside a makeshiftworkshop inGaza, rebuilt after it was damaged byIsraeli air strikes, Suleiman Abu Hassanin stands among piles of broken concrete, trying to give them a new form. His voice over the phone sounds tired, carrying the weight of what he is trying to do: rebuild in a place where building materials are no longer available.Gaza’s construction crisis did not begin with thelatest war. For years, the Israeli blockaderestricted the entryof cement, steel, and other building materials, slowing reconstruction efforts across the enclave. But after nearly two years of intensified bombardment, the scale of destruction has pushed the system far beyond collapse.According to UN estimates, Gaza now containsmore than 60 million tonsof rubble, while hundreds of thousands of displaced people continue to live in tents with little protection from heat orwinter chilland no clear prospect forreconstruction.In that environment, rubble is no longer just debris. It is becoming one of the only construction resources left.One local response is Green Rock, a project led by Abu Hassanin that aims to recycle the remains of destroyed buildings into usable Lego-like bricks. Similar interlocking brick systems have been used elsewhere, including in parts of Europe and in post-conflict settings such asSudanand Iraq. But in Gaza, the project emerges under very different conditions: not as an architectural experiment, but as a response to the near disappearance of conventional reconstruction materials.Abu Hassanin says the idea was born out of necessity rather than innovation. “We were facing a simple equation: destruction without solutions,” he says. “So we tried to turn it into a resource.”The process involves crushing and sorting rubble, then mixing it with local soil and alternative binding materials developed inside Gaza before compressing it into blocks using a machine built by hand. The resulting interlocking bricks can be assembled without traditional mortar, reducing reliance on cement, which remains scarce.Lego-like interlocking bricks made from recycled rubble inside the Green Rock workshop in Gaza.Photograph: Hassan HerzallahUnder normal conditions, this type of brick would require some cement, around 7 to 12 percent. But because access to it remains heavily restricted, the team says it developed a version using locally available replacement materials instead. Engineer Wajdi Jouda helped define the brick’s size and structure to meet engineering standards and connected the team with technical expertise from outside Gaza.According to Abu Hassanin and Jouda, early tests show the bricks provide better thermal and sound insulation than the tents many displaced families currently live in. But the project remains experimental and has not been tested at the scale required for long-term reconstruction.Current production ranges between 1,000 and 1,500 bricks per day—theoretically enough to build a small shelter in roughly two weeks. But every stage of the process remains difficult. Without heavy machinery, amid repeated power outages and damaged infrastructure, even transporting and crushing rubble becomes labor intensive.The challenges are not only technical. They also include the lack of proper equipment and the broader political restrictions imposed by the Israeli blockade, which continues to limit access to essential construction materials. Despite the availability of skilled workers inside Gaza and technical support from outside, Abu Hassanin says funding remains the main obstacle preventing the project from moving more quickly toward implementation.That reality has pushed some reconstruction efforts toward smaller, improvised local systems instead.The project also carries risks and limitations. Humanitarian organizations and reconstruction experts have warned that rubble in Gaza may contain hazardous materials, includingasbestos, heavy metals, and unexploded ordnance. Even if recycled blocks can help create temporary shelters, rebuilding entire neighborhoods would still require infrastructure, machinery, and material access on a vastly different scale.A worker operates a hand-built machine used to compress recycled rubble into interlocking construction blocks in Gaza.Photograph: Hassan HerzallahStill, projects like Green Rock are emerging because few alternatives currently exist.Compared to traditional reconstruction models that depend on imported materials and large international rebuilding programs, the project represents a hyperlocal response shaped by scarcity. It also reduces construction costs by roughly 50 to 60 percent, while creating work opportunities for displ