Gaza's Displaced Families on the Beach Prepare for Another Winter in Tents

Displaced families living in tents on the beach in Gaza are preparing for another winter, and some are trying to keep the sea out with whatever they can find. Al Jazeera reported on 5 November 2026 on families camped along the coast near al-Qarara port.

Anas al-Shami, 33, lives with his family of six in a worn-out tent a few metres from the sea. He and his family were displaced from Bani Suheila, east of Khan Younis, after the area became part of what Israel calls its "Yellow Zone", a zone beyond which Palestinians are not permitted to go.

Last winter, seawater and rain flooded the family's tent while they slept. His children were left lying in water, and bedding and belongings were soaked.

Ibrahim Abu Tair, 47, was also displaced from eastern Khan Younis. He lives with his seven children in a cramped tent on the shoreline of the port, and last year floodwater filled his tent and forced the family to endure the cold in the open.

Families on the beach are now filling damaged cooking pots with earth and placing them alongside their tents as a barrier against the encroaching seawater. The Mayasem Association, an aid organisation that works in cooperation with World Central Kitchen, has taken up the approach.

The problem is far wider than one stretch of coast. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the body that coordinates UN relief work, said at least 294,250 families in Gaza need help with winter shelter, according to Al Jazeera's report of 28 October 2026.

Earlier in the year, OCHA's regular situation update said heavy rains and flooding had rendered thousands of tents uninhabitable. OCHA's Humanitarian Situation Update #353, published in January 2026, described the damage across the territory. The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, has also described thousands of displaced people living along the seashore in makeshift tents under harsh humanitarian conditions.