The stagnant waters collecting around the Sheikh Radwan area have become a daily reminder of how fragile life has become across northern Gaza. What was once a system meant to channel rainwater now resembles a spreading lake of sewage, creeping between homes already fractured by months of genocidal war. Residents move carefully through streets that disappear beneath polluted water, describing a suffocating smell that never leaves and an anxiety that begins the moment they step outside. Every rainfall brings fear that the rising levels will break through weakened walls and spill into homes, turning a public-health emergency into a large-scale catastrophe.

Families forced to flee the widespread destruction have pitched makeshift tents only a short distance from the expanding pond. Many say they escaped one danger only to face another, heavy, contaminated water building up beside them while the city’s infrastructure lies in ruins. With only a fraction of the pumping systems still functioning and power interruptions now a familiar part of daily life, residents describe a sense of living on borrowed time. Even a moderate storm could push the water higher, threatening the remaining houses and the crowded camps surrounding them. Locals say they monitor the waterline like others might check the weather, knowing that a single night of heavy rain could be devastating.

Inside nearby neighbourhoods, the crisis is felt in every corner of daily life. Families keep their windows sealed against the smell, and parents warn children not to wander near the waterlogged roads. Residents report illnesses linked to the conditions, skin infections, breathing difficulties, and the spread of insects that thrive in stagnant pools. Many say the psychological strain is just as heavy: the constant worry that the pond’s damaged barriers may collapse, sending polluted water flooding through homes already weakened by the genocidal war. For those living closest to the site, each new day is described as a test of endurance, marked by uncertainty, tension and the unsettling sound of water rising where it was never meant to be.