Displaced families in Gaza struggle against rain and cold in makeshift structures

A ceasefire in Gaza has been in effect since October, but storms, floods and cold winter temperatures pose another threat to the hundreds of thousands of people living in makeshift structures across the territory.  

A gloomy sky hung over one of Gaza's many camps for displaced people, as families braced for another round of rain. 

Many live in weak makeshift structures propped with old pieces of wood and thin tarps already frayed by months of use. 

"We have been living in this tent for two years. Every time it rains and the tent collapses over our heads, we try to put up new pieces of wood," Shaima Wadi, a mother of four children, who has been displaced from Jabaliya, said. 

“With how expensive everything has become — and without any income — we can barely afford clothes for our children or mattresses for them to sleep on.” 

Hundreds of thousands of families like Wadi's live in tents in Central Gaza and across the Strip. 

“We live in a tent, and the severe cold is eating us up,” Siraj Ahmad, a woman displaced from Gaza city said. 

She pointed to blankets and carpets piled on the ground, where her children sat despite water seeping through. Small holes were visible across the tarp covering the tent. 

“I collect nylon, cardboard and plastic from the streets to keep them warm,” said Ahmad Wadi, who burns these materials to make fire.  

“They don’t have proper covers. It is freezing, the humidity is high, and water seeps in from everywhere. I don’t know what to do.” 

Reduced to rubble

The Gaza Health Ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, has said dozens of people, including at least two children, have died from hypothermia or after weather-related collapses of war-damaged homes onto families. 

Emergency workers warned people not to stay in damaged buildings because they could collapse at any moment.  

But with so much of the territory reduced to rubble, there are few places to escape the rain. 

In July, the United Nations Satellite Center estimated that almost 80 percent of the buildings in Gaza have been destroyed or damaged. 

The Gaza Health Ministry said on Saturday that 29 bodies, including 25 that were recovered from under the rubble, have been brought to local hospitals over the past 48 hours. 

Eight other wounded individuals also arrived at hospitals, the ministry added. 

The ministry said that since the ceasefire went into effect on October 11, 414 people have been killed and 1,142 wounded.  

It added that the bodies of 679 people were pulled from under the rubble during the same period. 

The overall Palestinian death toll from the Israel-Hamas war rose to at least 71,266, the ministry said. Another 171,219 have been wounded, it said. 

The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count. It is staffed by medical professionals. The United Nations and other independent experts view its figures as the most reliable count of casualties. Israel has disputed its figures, but hasn’t provided its own account of casualties. 

The war erupted in October 2023 following the Hamas-led attack in Israel where about 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostages.