'Shivering from cold and fear': winter rains batter displaced Gazans

Khan Yunis, Palestinian Territories: It only took a matter of minutes after the heavy overnight rain first began to fall for Jamil al Sharafi s tent i...

Khan Yunis, Palestinian Territories: It only took a matter of minutes after the heavy overnight rain first began to fall for Jamil al-Sharafi's tent in southern Gaza to flood, drenching his food and leaving his blankets sopping wet.

The winter rains have made an already precarious life worse for people like Sharafi, who is among the hundreds of thousands in the Palestinian territory displaced by the war, many of whom now survive on aid provided by humanitarian organisations.

"My children are shivering from cold and fear... The tent was completely flooded within minutes," Sharafi, 47, said on Sunday.

The tents of displaced Palestinians sheltering them from the harsh winter conditions are set-up on clear land in Gaza City, an December 28, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

"We lost our blankets, and all the food is soaked," added the father of six, who lives in a makeshift shelter with his children in the coastal area of Al-Mawasi.