BBCGaza’s beaches are no longer for day trips. Tens of thousands of people now live along the coast, forced to leave their homes during the war.
In recent days, they have been subjected to a new type of attack: from winter seas that batter their fragile, makeshift homes.
“There was nothing left in the tent: no mattress, sheets, bread, everything was taken. The sea took it away,” said Mohammed al-Halabi, of Deir al-Balah.
“We rescued a two-month-old baby that was pulled out to sea.”
The United Nations says almost all of Gaza’s 2.3 million population is now displaced and nine in 10 people living in shelters are in tents.
With temperatures plummeting, many people have fallen ill. There have been floods due to rainwater and wastewater.
“My children’s feet, their heads – everything is freezing,” Shaima Issa told the BBC’s Khan Younis channel. “My daughter has a fever because of the cold. We’re basically living on the streets, surrounded by strips of fabric. Everyone here is sick and coughing.”
“When it rained, we were soaked,” her neighbor, Salwa Abu Nimer, said, crying. “Heavy rain flooded the water, we did not have a waterproof roof. Water seeped into the tent, our clothes were soaked.”
“No flour, no food, no drink, no shelter,” she continued. “What is the life I am living? I go to the ends of the earth just to raise my child.”
While the situation in the north is at its worst, UN officials warned of severe shortages of medicine, food, shelter and fuel across Gaza, describing the situation as “catastrophic”. ”.
People lined up to receive charity gifts in the central and southern areas of Gaza, where most people live.
For several days in a row, our local videographers filmed hundreds of people crowded outside bakeries, where there was very little bread. Sometimes, there are broken emotions as those who are waiting rush forward.
“I need a loaf of bread. I have pain, diabetes and high blood pressure. I couldn’t get through the crowd; I was afraid I would suffocate and die,” said Hanan al-Shamali, who lives in Deir al-Balah but is originally from northern Gaza.
“I need bread so I can feed the orphans I care for. I come here every morning. Finally, will I receive the bread or not? Sometimes I get it, but most of the time I don’t.”
At the Kerem Shalom border crossing, Israel’s main border crossing with Gaza, journalists last week witnessed trucks transporting goods passing through security checks.
Aid to the Palestinian territories remains at its lowest level in the past year. Israel blames aid agencies for distribution problems.
Shimon Freedman, a spokesman for the organization, said: “Unfortunately, we still see that the biggest problem in getting humanitarian aid to where it needs to go is the distribution capacity of international organizations. reality, as the 800 aid trucks around me attested.” Cogat, part of the Israeli army, controls the crossings.
But inside Gaza, humanitarian workers say Armed gangs looted supplies was brought to Kerem Shalom amid growing lawlessness. This has now prompted the largest UN agency operating in the territory, Unrwa, to temporarily suspend the use of this route for deliveries.
Antoine Renard, the local head of the United Nations World Food Program, said the overall picture was that Palestinians were facing a “daily struggle for survival.”
Mr Renard said: “The level of famine, devastation and devastation we are seeing in Gaza now is worse than ever. People can’t take it anymore. There is almost no food.” were brought in while the markets were empty.”
Amid the devastation in Gaza, the war has no end in sight. Just expect more suffering when the cold weather arrives.
