By Ahmed Dremly in Gaza City, occupied Palestine
14 December 2025 12:47 GMT

Since winter began, Saber has lived in constant fear. Their fragile tent offered little protection from rain or wind, and he knew it could collapse at any moment.

Two weeks earlier, rainwater had already flooded the tent, reaching nearly 30cm. His daughters fell ill with colds that lasted for days. Desperate to prevent it from happening again, Saber borrowed money from one of his relatives to buy a plastic tarpaulin and reinforced the tent with wooden poles.

But when the latest storm hit Gaza a few days ago, his efforts proved useless.

“I spent the first night of the rain holding the tent up with my own hands as rain poured in from every direction,” Saber told Middle East Eye.

“It felt like I had done nothing at all. The tent collapsed on us in the first hours of the rain.”

Rain and rubble: Gaza families face a double threat in makeshift homes

For the past several days, Saber Dawas and his wife have been struggling to keep their seven daughters warm and dry after heavy rain and strong winds destroyed their tent in Gaza.

^{Ahmed Dremly (Middle East Eye)}