While people around the world await the rainy season with anticipation for the blessings it brings, the residents of Gaza prepare for it with anxiety and fear, as rain has become a new threat over the rubble of their destroyed houses.
For the past two years, Gazans have endured successive chapters of suffering that did not end with the sound of bombing or the sight of debris covering the Strip. The war, which consumed everything in its path, buried over 61 million tons of rubble, according to United Nations estimates, turning the cities of Gaza into mountains of collapsed concrete, dust, and debris.
Despite the ceasefire agreement that came into effect last October, the road to reconstruction remains blocked due to Israeli obstruction and the prevention of necessary equipment from entering. While waiting drags on, thousands of Gazans try to live amid the ruins of their houses, facing the constant threat of collapse, disease, and flooding.
On what remains of her house's walls in Al-Nasr neighborhood in Gaza City, Sajida Emad stands staring at the spread of rubble before her. She tries to speak steadily, but her words choke whenever she remembers her home, half of which has turned to ashes.
She told "Sana" News Agency: "Our house was partially damaged during the ground invasion, and we found nowhere else to go. We try to repair some walls and cover the roof with plastic sheets, but the cold creeps in every night. We don't know how we will face the rain when it starts to fall."
In a faint voice, she adds: "The rubble around us has become a breeding ground for insects and rodents. We see insects for the first time in our lives. Sewage water collects in the streets, and with the coming rain, we will drown along with what remains of our dreams."
In Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, Salim Naji and his family live in what remains of the edges of their destroyed home -- cracked walls and a slanted roof resting on wooden planks and tattered sheets.
Naji says: "Tents don't protect against the summer heat or winter cold, so I returned to my ruined house. But I fear it could collapse at any moment. The coming rains may be harsher than any bombing, as the walls are cracked, as if they are struggling to breathe."
Environmental expert Abdel Fattah Abdel Rab warns of an "unprecedented environmental and health risk" with the onset of winter, amid the accumulation of rubble and blocked streets. He explains: "The rubble in Gaza is a porous environment that harbors insects , rodents, mixing solid, agricultural, and wooden waste. Any attempt to burn it releases toxic gases that affect residents' health."
He adds that the coming rains will reveal the depth of the crisis: "When rainwater and sewage water accumulate in streets blocked by rubble, the affected areas will turn into stagnant pools and fertile grounds for pests, signaling a real health and environmental disaster."
He also warns that partially damaged buildings are at risk of collapse at any moment, especially as walls absorb rainwater and strong winds blow.
Amid the rubble, cold, and humidity, Gazans face the coming season with hearts heavy with worry; the rain that was once a source of life has become a new test of survival.
As they wait for reconstruction, the residents of Gaza confront a painful dilemma: either live on the rubble -- or drown beneath it.