Floods

Aceh Tamiang, Indonesia – Rahmadani and her nine-year-old son Dimas lost their home when catastrophic flooding ravaged their rented residence in Aceh Tamiang, located in Indonesia’s eastern Aceh province.

Initially seeking refuge on a roadside immediately following the disaster, they relocated to a tent just metres from their ruined house three weeks later.

The devastating floods in December killed at least 1,170 people across North Sumatra, West Sumatra, and Aceh provinces. Weeks after the disaster, numerous displaced victims continue to shelter in temporary tents.

Aceh province suffered the most severe impact, with Aceh Tamiang among the regions hit hardest.

For Rahmadani, her son’s health remains her primary concern. Dimas, who sustained an injury as an infant, is unable to walk or speak.

“Before the floods, we always took him to the doctor, and he was well cared for, so he was healthy. After the floods, we could not go to see a doctor. Even if there is assistance, it is just food aid,” she said.

“His head is swollen, so he needs to take medication and vitamins. The medication isn’t expensive, but now we don’t have any money. My child is in pain, but I can only put him in a sling while I try to earn some money.”

Israeli attacks, violating a ceasefire agreement, are reported across Gaza, as Palestinian misery compounded by rains.

Israeli forces have carried out strikes across the Gaza Strip as they continue with their near-daily violations of the ceasefire agreement, with Israel’s genocidal war on the besieged enclave continuing apace and displaced Palestinians enduring the destruction of their few remaining possessions in flooding brought about by heavy winter rains.

Israeli air strikes on Tuesday targeted locations north of Rafah and east of Khan Younis, the Maghazi camp in central Gaza and Beit Lahiya in the north of the Strip, Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary reported.

Reporting from Gaza City, Khoudary said artillery shelling had been reported in the territory’s southern and central regions, while there had also been an attack in the Gaza City neighbourhood of Shujayea, striking close to the tent of a displaced family.

She said the latest attacks, in violation of the United States-brokered ceasefire that came into force in October, numbering nearly 1,000 now, were coming at a time of immense hardship for hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians, as heavy rains and strong winds had ravaged their makeshift camps, destroying the few possessions they had left.

Gaza’s Government Media Office said on Sunday that Israel had committed 969 ceasefire violations since it came into effect on October 10, resulting in the deaths of 418 civilians and injuries to more than 1,100.

“Palestinians are still very traumatised and anxious,” Khoudary said. “The situation on the ground continues to deteriorate as the rain continues.”

Calls to allow supplies in

Aid groups have repeatedly called for Israeli authorities to lift restrictions to allow more supplies, including shelter equipment, into the territory, where displaced families have been trying to stay dry in flimsy, battered tents that offer scant protection from the elements after months of use.

“Families here are helpless while the Israeli authorities continue to restrict all kinds of shelter into the Gaza Strip,” Khoudary said.

Officials have warned that the severe conditions also bring new dangers, with the threat of disease and illness as overwhelmed and damaged sewage systems contaminate floodwaters, as well as the risk that buildings could collapse amid heavy rain and wind.

At least two people have been killed by damaged structures falling amid the severe weather in recent days.

‘We are still suffering’

In a displacement camp east of Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, heavy rain in recent days has left tents submerged in muddy water, destroying the few possessions that the families had taken with them from their homes.

Inside the tents, an Al Jazeera team found essential items like pillows, mattresses and bedcovers soaked in muddy water.

“The tent has been flooded,” said Mohammed al-Louh, a resident.

“I took my family out, but I couldn’t even get a blanket, a mattress or a bag of flour. I have no way to sleep with my children or keep them warm.”

Another man, Haitham Arafat, said he had lost his son and daughter as well as his home to Israel’s genocidal war, and was still suffering amid the severe conditions.

“I fled to this place. Does this mean the war is over?” he said.

“No, we are still suffering. We haven’t slept for two days because of the heavy rain.”

Reporting from the camp, Al Jazeera’s Ibrahim al-Khalili said the winter storms had brought a new “chapter of suffering” for Palestinians who had been plunged into a humanitarian crisis by Israel’s war.

“What was meant to be a temporary shelter for them has turned into a flooded trap,” he said.

Winter rain has lashed the Gaza Strip over the weekend, flooding displacement camps with ankle-deep water as Palestinians struggled to stay dry in flimsy, worn-out tents. These Palestinians have been displaced after more than two years of Israel’s genocidal war, which has destroyed much of the besieged enclave.

In Khan Younis, soaked blankets and swamped clay cooking ovens added to the misery. Children in flip-flops navigated through puddles while adults desperately used shovels and tin cans to remove water from tents or extracted collapsed shelters from mud.

“Puddles formed, and there was a bad smell,” said Majdoleen Tarabein, displaced from Rafah in southern Gaza. “The tent flew away. We don’t know what to do or where to go.”

She and her family attempted to wring sodden blankets dry by hand.

“When we woke up in the morning, we found that the water had entered the tent,” said Eman Abu Riziq, also displaced in Khan Younis. “These are the mattresses. They are all completely soaked.”

She added that her family is still grieving her husband’s death less than two weeks ago.

“Where are the mediators? We don’t want food. We don’t want anything. We are exhausted. We just want mattresses and covers,” pleaded Fatima Abu Omar while trying to stabilise a collapsing shelter.

At least 15 people, including three babies, have died this month from hypothermia following the rains and plunging temperatures, according to the authorities in Gaza.

Emergency workers have warned against staying in damaged buildings due to collapse risks, yet with most of the territory in rubble after relentless and ongoing Israeli bombardment, shelter options are scarce. United Nations estimates from July indicate nearly 80 percent of Gaza’s buildings have been destroyed or damaged.

Since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began, 414 people have been killed and 1,142 wounded, with the overall Palestinian death toll reaching at least 71,266, according to the Health Ministry.

Aid deliveries to Gaza fall significantly short of ceasefire-mandated amounts, humanitarian organisations report. The Israeli military authority overseeing humanitarian aid stated that 4,200 aid trucks entered Gaza in the past week, along with sanitation equipment and winter supplies, but refused to specify the quantity of tents provided. Aid groups emphasise that current supplies cannot meet overwhelming needs.

Since the ceasefire, approximately 72,000 tents and 403,000 tarps have entered Gaza, according to Shelter Cluster, an international aid coalition led by the Norwegian Refugee Council.

“People in Gaza are surviving in flimsy, waterlogged tents and among ruins,” Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the UN refugee aid organisation in Gaza, said on social media. “There is nothing inevitable about this. Aid supplies are not being allowed in at the scale required.”

From Israel’s genocide in Gaza and the Russia-Ukraine war to devastating global weather events – including floods, storms and earthquakes – this year was defined by turmoil and humanitarian crises.

Prolonged violence in Sudan, marked by attacks by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), added to the mounting civilian toll and displacement across the country.

The year also saw heightened tensions between India and Pakistan, a deadly blaze in Hong Kong, United States and Israeli attacks on Iran, revelations from the Epstein files, and waves of “Gen Z” protest movements across multiple regions.

Together, these developments dominated international headlines, reflecting deepening political instability, social unrest and growing humanitarian needs worldwide.

View the gallery below for powerful photographs that documented and encapsulated these pivotal 12 months.