North Gaza: Shelterless Palestinians brave harsh winter in the open

Ibrahim Khalid sits amongst the rubble of his family’s destroyed house in Gaza City, February 2025

Ahmed Dremly reports in Middle East Eye on 19 February 2025:

While Linda Jarour was sleeping in her neighbour’s tent near the ruins of her home in northern Gaza’s Jabalia, a roofing sheet fell onto the tent. The heavy rain and strong winds had caused it to batter her shelter.  “I thought it was an Israeli air strike,” the 45-year-old told Middle East Eye. “It fell close to me and my husband.”

Since returning to northern Gaza after the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, Palestinians have been grappling with the lack of shelters that could protect them from the cold and rainy winter.  Most have returned to destroyed homes, forced to sleep in makeshift shelters, which have been hit by heavy rain and strong winds over the past week.

In October 2023, Jarour and her husband al-Khateb, 55, fled their home after intense Israeli bombardment rocked their neighbourhood.  They sought refuge in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, hoping to find safety after Israel claimed the area would be secure. But for Jarour, the reality was far different.

She was wounded in May 2024 when an Israeli air strike bombed a house just 50 metres away with no prior warning.  “Even in the south, they were killing everywhere,” Jarour said. “We were forced to be displaced multiple times, starved, humiliated, and left to suffer in the cold without proper shelter.”  Her hopes of returning home were shattered when she received a call from a relative. Israeli air strikes had destroyed her house.

“My house was big and well-decorated. It was like a paradise for us,” Jarour said. “Since that day, my husband started suffering from diabetes, and I found out that my blood pressure had become dangerously high.”

In late January, Jarour and al-Khateb returned home after Israeli forces withdrew from the Netzarim corridor, allowing displaced Palestinians to cross back. But upon her return, Jarour was shocked by the scale of destruction in her area.  “I broke down in tears when I saw the rubble of my house,” she said.

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According to Gaza’s Ministry of Public Works and Housing, more than 250,000 homes have been destroyed or severely damaged by Israeli forces in 15 months of relentless bombing, which has killed over 48,000 Palestinians.  Meanwhile, Palestinian authorities in Gaza accuse Israel of continuing to hinder the entry of aid, including tents and shelters, in violation of the ceasefire agreement.

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