As summer arrived, the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip — who number around 1.7 million — found in the sea an avenue to escape from the summer heat and electricity outages.
Thousands of men and children on vacation swam or lay on the beach, while most women sat carefully or swam in their black abayas. Every now and then, the scene was broken by the passage of a horse or camel to lure people into taking a ride for less than $1.