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<h1 class="gmail-single_title">Night of rain and ruin: Struggle to survive in Mawasi Khan Yunis</h1>
<p class="gmail-single_date">Friday 12-December-2025</p>
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<p>GAZA, (PIC)</p>
<p>In displacement camps of al-Mawasi area in Khan Yunis in southern
Gaza Strip, long rows of worn-out, tightly packed tents stretch along
muddy streets.</p>
<p>The early hours of Wednesday night saw heavy rain hammering the thin
fabric roofs. The soft patter of raindrops sounds like a scary monster.</p>
<p>Mahmoud al-Haddad, a Palestinian man in his mid-thirties, helplessly
watched water seep through every corner of the tattered roof of his tent
in al-Mawasi.</p>
<p>After his home was destroyed during the war, Mahmoud had to set up
the tent as a temporary shelter for the family. But it failed to prevent
water from pooling inside and soak mattresses and clothes.</p>
<p>Mahmoud wondered how he might save what remained of his family\u2019s belongings after destruction forced them out of their home.</p>
<p>For their part, women in neighboring tents tightened the frayed ropes
of their shelter, and children sat on the damp ground watching water
leak into their tents. That\u2019s how fragile a shelter can be.</p>
<p>Water outpaced Mahmoud\u2019s effort in lifting clothes. As his two sons,
Hamza and Islam, began shivering from the cold and water streamed in
from every side, he recalls, \u201cI tried to lift the blankets and hold the
kids, but the water was faster\u2026 I felt like everything was falling
apart.\u201d</p>
<p>Within minutes, the tent\u2019s rear support gave way under the pressure,
causing one corner to collapse completely. The family\u2019s living space
quickly turned into a pool of mud. The children trembled, struggling to
move across the muddy ground.</p>
<p>Neighbors hurried to help Mahmoud, but with every step, another piece
of clothing, food, or a simple household item disappeared into the
sludge. Such objects, once giving the family a fragile sense of
stability, are now gone.</p>
<p>By the morning, the camp looked as if it had just survived a
small-scale disaster: fallen tents, torn nylon covers, and scents of
damp fabric mixed with the fuel burned overnight for warmth.</p>
<p>Mahmoud didn\u2019t just lose his items, he lost what they symbolized. His
children\u2019s notebooks, drawings, and school assignments were soaked
through.</p>
<p>In an exhausted voice he said, \u201cThe hardest moment was seeing the notebooks\u2026 even the simplest things they have are gone.\u201d</p>
<p>Despite everything, Mahmoud worked with his neighbors to rebuild a
flimsy tent from torn nylon and old wood, trying to shield his children
from the cold, water, and mud that fill their days. He says they are
\u201cnot asking for luxury, just a roof that protects the kids for one night
without fear.\u201d</p>
<p>His story mirrors that of thousands in Gaza\u2019s camps, where around
250,000 families endure harsh winter conditions in inadequate shelters,
waiting for even the smallest sign of assistance.</p>
<p>On Thursday, an infant died inside her family\u2019s tent in al-Mawasi due to severe cold caused by the polar storm.</p>
<p>The Director of the Ministry of Health in Gaza highlighted the death
of baby, Rahaf Abu Jazar, pointing to the extreme fragility of living
and health conditions in the camps.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Civil Defense reported receiving more than 2,500 distress
calls within 24 hours due to the storm, adding that they carried out 32
operations within 12 hours mostly for flooded tents.</p>
<p>Spokesman of Civil Defense Mahmoud Basal said that available
resources do not meet even the minimum needs of the population, warning
of catastrophic consequences as the storm reached its peak.</p>
<p>Basal stressed that tents are not a humanitarian solution and only
deepen the suffering of displaced families, calling on the international
community to urgently provide mobile homes.</p>
<p>\u201cA three-story home belonging to the Al-Baghdadi family in the
Al-Nasser neighborhood of northern Gaza collapsed,\u201d Civil Defense
reported, adding that entire camps in Khan Yunis, Deir al-Balah,
Nuseirat, and Gaza City flooded.</p>
<p>For his part, Ismail al-Thawabta, Director of the Government Media
Office, said that most tents are no longer suitable for living and that
the rains have significantly worsened people\u2019s suffering.</p>
<p>Thawabta indicated a need for more than 300,000 new tents, noting
that 93% of existing tents, around 125,000 out of 135,000, are
uninhabitable.</p>
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