Salvaged Parts Bring Wind Power to Displaced Families in Gaza

Wind turbines assembled from discarded metal and debris are supplying electricity to displaced Palestinians in a crowded camp in southern Gaza. Rising above tents in Khan Yunis, the homemade devices capture the sea breeze to provide power for families without direct access to the territory’s shattered electricity grid.

Behind the effort is Kamal Al-Dabary, a 60-year-old former engineering student displaced by the fighting between Israel and Hamas. Working with basic tools, electrical wires and salvaged components on a plastic table, he connects cables and checks them with a multimeter. Small bulbs lighting up show when his work has produced a functioning circuit.

The need extends far beyond the camp. According to the World Bank, more than 90 percent of Gaza’s electricity generation and distribution capacity was destroyed in April 2026. Much of that destruction resulted from Israeli military strikes during the war that began with the Hamas-led onslaught in southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

Dabary told AFP that his family previously relied on a solar panel, repositioning it to capture sunlight when such equipment was more affordable. After three years of war, prices have risen sharply while aid and commercial goods have entered through crossings tightly controlled by Israel. A single panel now costs at least 15,000 shekels, nearly $5,000, according to Dabary, beyond what most Gazans can afford. He said his family had gone three years without work or income.

Those constraints led him to look for another source of energy. His turbines use scooter motors and blades fashioned from old water tanks. Wind rotates the blades, driving a motor to generate electricity. The current flows through circuits built with components recovered from destroyed homes and is then stored in batteries.

Although the turbines produce only limited power, they can charge mobile phones and operate lights, fans and electric razors. These basic conveniences have become difficult to obtain for families living in tents and shelters. Nearly every Gaza resident was displaced at least once during the war. Most now live in a small area under Hamas rule, while Israel controls more than half the territory along its perimeter.

Dabary, known locally as Abu Ayman, sees the electricity as a way to help families endure displacement while hoping to return home. For camp resident Saleh ben Hasan, 50, the system “has changed everything.”

Ben Hasan also pointed to the importance of electricity for medical equipment in a place where healthcare and medicines are difficult to access. He cited the need to run a child’s nebulizer during the night, explaining that residents turn to Abu Ayman when they need power.