Cold winter winds compound misery of displaced Palestinians living in tents in Gaza

(10 Jan 2026)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Deir Al-Balah, Central Gaza strip – 9 January 2026
1. Various of tents of displaced people flapping in strong winds
2. Various of people walking in rain near tents
3. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Khalid Abu Jazar, displaced from Rafah:
”I live with my wife, three girls, and my boy in the same tent. It collapsed during the last storm, and my friends were able to get me a tent. But as you can see, the situation is very hard. The people’s situation is very bad. Everything is about to collapse. It is a hard, deplorable situation.”
4. Various of Abu Jazar standing near his tent, which ripped apart
5. Various of tents of displaced people fluttering
6. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ayyat Hasanein, displaced from Gaza city:
“We are suffering here. Whoever looks at the tents thinks that we have a good life, but the reality inside the tent is different. The tent is not sheltering us, not even against a rain drop. A life here? There is no life. We are deceiving ourselves if we say we are alive. This tent that you see, it is not doing anything against the water.”
7. Various of displaced people fixing their tents
8. Various of displaced people walking near tents
9. Various of sea spray being blown by strong winds towards tents
STORYLINE:
Strong winds on Friday swept through the Deir Al-Balah area in central Gaza, whistling across the fragile makeshift tents that Palestinians spent too long to secure strongly on the ground.

“I live with my wife, three girls, and my boy in the same tent. It collapsed during the last storm, and my friends were able to get me a (new) tent,” Khalid Abu Jazar, who is displaced from Rafah said.

“It is a hard, deplorable situation.”

But despite their good efforts to seal and secure their tents properly, rainwater and strong winds still find their way in.

“The tent is not sheltering us, not even against a rain drop,” said Ayyat Hasanein, who was displaced from Gaza city.

A phased ceasefire between Israel and Hamas remains in its initial stage as efforts continue to recover the remains of the final Israeli hostage in Gaza.

More than 400 people have been killed in Gaza since an October ceasefire began, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

The overall Palestinian death toll from the Israel-Hamas war rose to at least 71,388, the ministry said.

Another 171,269 have been wounded, it said.


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