When tents become tombs: Gaza’s vulnerable families struggle to survive the cold

The nightmare of death by cold has returned to Gaza for the third consecutive year. Dr. Munir Al-Barash, Director-General of the Ministry of Health in Gaza, warned of the catastrophic situation faced by refugees amid heavy rains and storms that have flooded their tents, stating that the tragic scenario of children, the elderly, and patients dying from extreme cold inside waterlogged tents is repeating itself.

Dr. Al-Barash told Anadolu Agency: “Genocide remains a defining characteristic of events in Gaza, and every storm, rainfall, and cold wave poses a direct threat to vulnerable groups living without homes or heating in dilapidated tents with collapsing roofs.”

He added: “The cold air practically destroys children, the elderly, and patients, causing severe shivering and respiratory problems that ultimately lead to death—especially given the ongoing food crisis in Gaza and the weakened immune systems of the population, particularly among vulnerable groups.”

The health official emphasized that moisture and water inside the tents create a breeding ground for pneumonia and respiratory infections, while patients are unable to access medicines or medical care.

Dr. Al-Barash explained: “Cold in Gaza is not merely a weather phenomenon; it is an additional factor in the daily equation of death threatening hundreds of thousands of people—hundreds of thousands who need nothing more than a tent to protect themselves. Meanwhile, the world watches in shameful silence as the suffering of besieged Gaza’s people continues amidst famine, bombing, and extreme cold.”

Mahmoud Bassal, Head of Civil Defense in Gaza, noted that due to the storm and heavy rains across the Strip, over 2,500 requests for assistance were received in the past 24 hours from refugees whose tents had been flooded. He added that as the storm intensified on Wednesday morning, thousands of refugee tents across different areas were submerged, with residents already severely lacking essential supplies.

The nightmare of death by cold returns to Gaza

The government information office in Gaza reported on Friday that 14 people, including three children, had died due to severe cold and storm-related consequences, and 13 homes were completely destroyed, most recently in the Al-Karama and Sheikh Radwan neighborhoods of Gaza City.

The bodies of six people were recovered after a house collapsed in the Beer al-Naaja neighborhood of Beit Lahia in northern Gaza due to the storm.

A medical source at Al-Shifa Hospital reported the deaths of a nine-year-old child and an infant in the Al-Shati refugee camp in western Gaza City. On Thursday, an eight-month-old infant in a refugee camp in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza also died from the cold.

Civil defense sources in Gaza confirmed that after a large wall collapsed due to the storm and rain onto refugee tents in western Gaza City, two more people lost their lives. Medical sources reported that the total number of deaths due to cold and storm-related effects in Gaza has now risen to 14.

Local sources stated that Gaza’s tented refugee camps have turned into large water and mud pits in recent weeks, particularly during days of heavy storms and rainfall. Tents have been completely submerged and are unable to withstand the torrential rains.

Over 250,000 displaced families across Gaza are facing an indescribable catastrophe. At night, the cries of children mix with the terrifying sound of wind whipping through the tents, while families struggle to patch holes with plastic bags or wet cloths, offering no real protection from the cold.

Images from Gaza show some refugees forced to place their mattresses over their heads to avoid flooding, while others spent the entire night standing as the ground turned into a swamp.

Hopes drowned in the flood

Local sources report that the cold and flooding affect everyone, but patients, the elderly, and children suffer the most. Tents collapse one by one, wooden supports break under strong winds, and structures fall on the people inside.

Mohammed Al-Khawaja, a Gaza refugee, told Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed: “I didn’t know where to put my feet. On the first rainy night, water rushed like a flood, and due to the heavy rain and strong winds, I couldn’t close any openings. I gathered my five children in one corner of the tent, but everything was under water.”

He continued, wiping mud from his hands: “The hardest moment was seeing my youngest son shivering from the cold. There was nothing dry to keep him warm, and I couldn’t even light a fire to comfort him. I dared not blink for fear of my family’s safety. The storm and its warnings revived that fear within us.”

The disaster is not limited to material damage but has severely impacted the refugees’ mental health, leaving them feeling utterly helpless and dreading further rain.

Ahed Abu Riyaleh, a 38-year-old displaced Palestinian, stood on a mound of mud trying to salvage what remained of his destroyed tent. He described the night when the rain flooded the tent: “From the moment I saw the dark clouds, I knew this was unusual, but I didn’t expect the rain to fall like this, as if the sea had been turned upside down over our heads.”

While trying to push water out of the tent, he added: “When the water filled the tent, I shouted and told my family to go outside, but the situation outside was worse—mud, strong winds, and floodwaters mixed with sewage.”

Hala Al-Mutrebeyi, a 16-year-old refugee girl, standing fearfully beside her family’s tent, said shyly: “This is the first time in my life that I am afraid of rain. We used to love winter and awaited the smell of soil, but now the wind and rain are terrifying. Water poured like a waterfall, and my sisters and I held onto the tent edges with our hands to keep it from blowing away.”

She continued, exhausted: “Because of the rain, water, cold, and strong winds, I couldn’t sleep even for a moment. Our clothes and notebooks, which we use for school, got soaked. I cried for the notebooks—they are the only things left to remind me that I am still a student.”