Displaced families in Khan Yunis are using homemade wind turbines built from salvaged equipment to charge phones and power household devices as Gaza’s grid remains largely destroyed, AFP reported.
AFP said nearly every Gaza resident had been displaced at least once during the war. Damage to homes and other infrastructure, much of it from Israeli strikes, accompanied the destruction of more than 90% of Gaza’s electricity generation and distribution capacity in April 2026, the World Bank said.
In the Khan Yunis camp, former engineering student Kamal Al-Dabary has assembled a system for families without direct access to the territory’s damaged grid, AFP reported. His turbines use scooter motors and blades cut from discarded water tanks. He connected them to circuits assembled from components recovered from destroyed homes, with batteries storing the electricity, AFP reported.
Residents can recharge phones and operate lamps, fans and electric razors with the stored power, according to AFP.
Al-Dabary told AFP his family bought a solar panel when prices were relatively affordable and moved it to follow the sun. “We haven’t had work or income for three years,” he said. He put the current price of a panel at 15,000 shekels or more, nearly $5,000, and said the cost puts panels beyond the reach of most Gazans.
Prices have climbed while aid and commercial cargo have reached Gaza in limited amounts through crossings under tight Israeli control, AFP reported.
AFP said the electricity can help keep medical equipment operating. Saleh ben Hasan, 50, said families turn to Al-Dabary when a child needs a nebulizer overnight.
AFP described the turbines’ output as modest, but said the devices offer some comfort to families living in tents and shelters.
