Between flooded tents and crumbling buildings, displaced families in southern Gaza are searching for any shelter that might shield them from the cold and relentless winter rain. Among them is Bahaa Abu Asi from Al-Mawasi, who, like thousands of others, is moving from one devastated spot to another in a desperate attempt to protect his children from the harsh weather.

Abu Asi recounts how he was forced to leave the Al-Mawasi beach with his family of four after water swept through their tent. They moved towards the Bilal Mosque area and attempted to repair a partially destroyed school near the “yellow line” in the hope of finding a place to stay. He told Snd News Agency that life there is almost unliveable: constant bombardment, gunfire echoing through the night, and a complete absence of basic necessities. With no access to water or food, he walks nearly five kilometres just to obtain the bare minimum for survival.

Yet despite the danger, he insists that staying amid destruction feels safer than facing the freezing rain. “We would rather die here in the place we choose,” he says, “than die from cold and rain.” His words echo a sentiment shared by countless families who no longer have stable ground to stand on after months of displacement.

As winter approaches in full force, humanitarian and environmental warnings are intensifying. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are enduring catastrophic conditions in makeshift camps that offer no real protection. Strict Israeli restrictions on the entry of essential aid and shelter materials continue to deepen the crisis, leaving more than 1.9 million people exposed to the elements after their homes and neighbourhoods were reduced to rubble.