Gaza beach gives children respite from heat and war hardships

• ‘We have nowhere to play except the sea … We want to live in peace,’ says 10-year-old Ola Meqdad

As temperatures rise and summer approaches, Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip are turning to the sea as a temporary escape from the harsh realities of life inside worn-out displacement tents amid devastation following Israel’s two-year war.

Although a ceasefire agreement entered into force last October, living and health conditions for Gaza’s 2.4 million residents remain dire as Israel continues airstrikes and attacks while failing to fully implement commitments outlined in the agreement.

The ceasefire followed two years of a war that has killed more than 72,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, injured over 172,000, and destroyed around 90% of Gaza’s civilian infrastructure.

Despite the reduced intensity of the war, its catastrophic effects continue to shape the daily lives of children in Gaza.

Many remain deprived of regular education, with only limited makeshift learning tents serving as temporary alternatives to destroyed schools. Children have also lost access to safe housing, healthcare, clean environments, recreation and other basic rights.

Along the beach of Gaza City, Anadolu captured scenes of dozens of children gathering by the sea, taking advantage of calm waves as the shoreline became one of the few places offering relief from the heat and overcrowded displacement shelters.

Moments of joy

Among rocks scattered across the coast, children swam and played, using improvised flotation devices made from scraps of household furniture, while songs and chants about Gaza and the sea echoed along the shore in an attempt to reclaim moments of joy amid war.

Mohammad Jouda, 15, came to the beach with his friends to escape the heat and ease the pressures of war.

“We came to the sea to swim and change the gloomy atmosphere of war,” he told Anadolu.

He added that the beach had become the only place offering them some psychological relief.

Gesturing toward the sea while standing among friends, Jouda said: “The sea breeze is nice … We hope the war ends and we return to our normal lives.”

Ten-year-old Ola Meqdad sang with friends on the beach.

“We have nowhere to play except the sea … We want to live in peace,” she said.

According to the UN, children have paid “the highest price” during the war, with more than 20,000 killed and at least 56,348 orphaned over the course of the Israeli war.

*Writing by Rania Abushamala in Istanbul.