Heavy rain and high waves wash away tents of Gaza's displaced

UN agencies warn about 500,000 people are sheltering in areas prone to flooding

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Heavy rainfall in Gaza has severely damaged tents and washed away the belongings of Palestinian families displaced several times in the past year due to Israeli attacks on their homes, with the UN warning that the weather has worsened conditions in the enclave.

Overnight rain flooded tents or damaged them beyond repair, leaving families to rely on scraps of material for shelter. The price of tents and the plastic sheets used to make them was already surging before the wet weather began.

"In Gaza, it is estimated that 1.9 million people [nine in 10] are displaced, the majority in improvised tents unable to withstand the stormy wind," Jonathan Crickx, chief of communication at the UN's agency for children, told The National on Monday.

Makeshift tents in refugee camps are typically made of materials that do not keep the rain or the cold out, raising concerns about how Gazans will endure another winter amid the war. "Strong winds, dropping temperatures and heavy rains have exacerbated people’s hardship as people’s improvised tents made of cloth, tarpaulin or plastic sheeting cannot withstand the hard winds," he added.

Elsewhere near coastal areas, tents were flooded by seawater while others were swept away by high waves. "The sea was dragging children, but we were able to rescue them," Khaled Idris, a displaced Gazan in Al Mawasi area, told The National. "What happened to us yesterday is a humanitarian catastrophe."

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees warned that about 500,000 people in Gaza were in areas prone to flooding. "Harsh winter weather is compounded by heavy rain and rising sea levels, which cause sewage pile-ups and disease," UNRWA said on X.

Rainwater flooded several areas across Gaza, including central and southern districts, said Mahmoud Basal, spokesman for Gaza's civil defence. He urged the international community to intervene and provide stronger tents to protect displaced families from the harsh winter conditions.

Mr Crickx said Unicef provided "dewatering pumps for installation in Gaza city, benefitting around 250,000 people. Cleaning and maintenance of sewerage and storm water networks in Deir Al Balah, Nuseirat and Khan Younis were implemented, benefiting around 400,000 people" to mitigate the risk of flooding.

“We didn’t sleep, trying to keep the tent standing,” said Muhannad Awad, who is sheltering on Al Yarmouk field – once a football pitch in Gaza city. “The situation is catastrophic, with no organisation offering oversight or assistance."

Desperate to protect their belongings, many families used whatever resources they had to prevent their tents from collapsing. “My family and I set up our tent along the Khan Younis shore,” explained Sobhi Shaheen, a displaced Gazan. “But it flooded twice this year – first 10 days ago and again today. We moved to a tent with my sister’s family in Al Mawasi, but the situation there is also dire. The water has turned the sand into mud, making it impossible to move, and the freezing cold is unbearable.”

Mohammed Mushtaha, who was displaced from the Shujaiya suburb of Gaza city, has also faced hardship. After being displaced once again from Rafah in May, his family had nowhere to go. Eventually, they set up their tent on the beach between Khan Younis and Deir Al Balah, enduring humidity and the threat of rising water. “We kept telling ourselves it would be better than facing the winter,” Mr Mushtaha said

"Our tents flooded, and the waves swept everything away. Many people lost their tents. We fled in fear of drowning. The situation was tragic, especially for children, women, and the elderly.”

For him, the hardest part is the helplessness of not being able to provide for his family. "Our lives are so hard, and thinking about it is devastating," he added. "It’s unbearable when your child tells you, ‘Dad, I’m cold,’ and you can’t do anything, or when he says, ‘I’m hungry,’ and you can’t feed him."