Autumn rain in Gaza exposes fragility of camps, raises locals’ fear for coming winter
Displaced Palestinians awoke to flooded tents Friday morning as the first autumn rain hit the Gaza Strip overnight, heightening fears of worsening living conditions as winter approaches.
Amal Abu Hassan, a displaced woman in Gaza City, and her four children endured a harrowing night as their tent was flooded, its floor and scant belongings submerged.
“Throughout the night, I tried to drain the water pouring into the tent, constantly moving my children to protect them from the rain and sudden flash floods,” Hassan, 32, told Xinhua, her clothes soaked. “But all my attempts were in vain. Water was seeping in everywhere, the bedding was soaked, and the children were crying from cold and fear.”
Hassan described herself as “truly helpless against the power of nature.” She added, “This is the first autumn rain in Gaza, and we are already struggling to survive. The tents offer no real protection, just thin tarpaulins.”
“We just want to keep our children safe from the rain and cold … Imagine what will happen when winter fully arrives, especially with no reconstruction and no further progress in the ceasefire,” she continued.
The rain comes at a time when Gaza is still trying to recover from the large-scale war between Israel and Hamas, which erupted on Oct. 7, 2023.
The conflict killed over 69,000 Palestinians and destroyed more than 85 percent of buildings in the Gaza Strip, including vital facilities and infrastructure, leaving the population highly vulnerable to both natural and humanitarian challenges.
Ahmed al-Khatib, 45, a shop owner in Khan Younis in the south of the Gaza Strip, described his family’s similar ordeal with Hassan. “The rain destroyed everything we own. Our furniture is soaked and unusable. My five children and I couldn’t find a dry place to sleep,” he told Xinhua.
“Every passing minute increases our sense of helplessness. This first rain has exposed the fragility of our lives. What will we do when winter comes in full force? How can we cope without reconstruction or the rehabilitation of roads and buildings?” he said.
He added that accumulated water and mud on the streets made movement nearly impossible and hampered relief efforts, leaving residents to face the floods alone.
“We are living in tragic conditions, with no support and no safe shelter from daily dangers,” said Fatima al-Masri, 28, from Deir al-Balah, central Gaza. “I thought our suffering would end after the war, but we are now facing another form of hardship, dealing with the catastrophic aftermath without real hope of survival.”
Most major and minor roads were flooded due to the rain, and debris and collapsed small bridges hindered emergency and relief teams, making access to affected areas extremely difficult.
“We have received thousands of urgent calls for help, but our resources are extremely limited,” Mahmoud Bassal, spokesman for Gaza’s Civil Defense, told Xinhua.
“Every second in these conditions puts residents’ lives at risk, especially since cracked and dilapidated houses are at risk of collapse, and thousands of tents belonging to displaced people have been damaged,” he said.
According to Bassal, as the weather worsens and humanitarian aid remains inadequate, Gaza faces a “catastrophic” situation.
“Continued rain will exacerbate the crisis, and current living conditions increase the risk of respiratory and infectious diseases due to humidity and flooding in the camps and affected areas,” he added.
