Palestinians in Gaza are facing a worsening humanitarian disaster as winter sets in, with thousands of civilians sheltering in worn‑out tents that fail to withstand heavy rains.
Widespread destruction of homes and infrastructure from ongoing Israeli attacks has left families exposed to cold, flooding, and hunger, despite a ceasefire announced on October 10.
Temperatures dropping to five degrees Celsius at night, combined with the absence of sanitation networks, have intensified the suffering of civilians. Aid deliveries remain far below needs: fewer than 5,000 trucks have entered Gaza out of 15,600 expected, representing less than 30 percent. Israel continues to impose restrictions on supply chains, allowing only about 200 trucks daily, while humanitarian protocols call for 600 to meet basic food, medicine, and fuel requirements.
UNICEF has warned that children, already weakened by malnutrition, face deadly risks from exposure to cold without shelter or heating. Images of children in soaked clothing wading through flooded camps capture the scale of the tragedy.
Reports from The New York Times and Save the Children highlight that more than a million Palestinians are at risk of disease, with thousands of children sleeping on bare ground amid sewage water.
Recent storms brought heavy rains and contaminated floods, affecting more than 740,000 people, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The World Health Organization cautioned that fragile tents, combined with half a million tons of waste, could trigger widespread epidemics.
Meanwhile, Israeli authorities have blocked the entry of essential shelter materials such as caravans and tents, while permitting shipments of low‑nutritional commercial goods like soft drinks and chocolate, and preventing humanitarian missions from delivering food and shelter supplies through the Kerem Shalom crossing.
