Cold temperatures and heavy rainfall have worsened already dire conditions for hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinian families across the Gaza Strip, as Israel continues to block deliveries of tents and other critical shelter supplies to the besieged territory.
Humanitarian groups have been warning for weeks that Palestinians living in tent camps and other makeshift shelters do not have what they need to withstand blistering winter conditions in the coastal enclave.
Many have been forcibly displaced multiple times as a result of Israel’s two-year bombardment of Gaza, which damaged and destroyed more than 198,000 structures across the Strip, according to United Nations figures.
“I have been crying since morning,” a displaced Palestinian mother of two told Al Jazeera from Gaza City on Saturday, pointing to her family’s tent, which had been flooded as a result of heavy rainfall overnight.
The woman, who did not provide her name, said she was struggling to provide for her children after several members of her family, including her husband, were killed in Israel’s genocidal war, which began in October 2023.
“I am asking for help to get a proper tent, a mattress and a blanket. I want my children to have suitable clothes,” she said. “I don’t have anyone to turn to … There is no one to help me.”
The UN and other humanitarian groups have urged Israel to lift all restrictions on aid to the Strip, where more than 69,000 people have been killed in more than two years of Israel’s war.
But the Israeli government has maintained its severe restrictions on the flow of humanitarian aid despite a ceasefire deal with the Palestinian group Hamas that came into effect on October 10.
Aid groups said earlier this month that about 260,000 Palestinian families in Gaza, totalling almost 1.5 million people, were vulnerable as the cold winter months approached.
‘Misery on top of misery’
At the same time, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has said it has enough shelter supplies to help as many as 1.3 million Palestinians – but cannot bring them into Gaza due to the Israeli restrictions.
On Saturday, UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said deliveries were more critical than ever as this winter coincides with Gaza’s displacement crisis.
“It’s cold and wet in Gaza. Displaced people are now facing a harsh winter without the basics to protect them from the rain and cold,” he said in a social media post.
Describing the humanitarian toll as “misery on top of misery”, Lazzarini noted that Gaza’s fragile shelters “quickly flood, soaking people’s belongings”.
“More shelter supplies are urgently needed for the people,” he added.
Reporting from az-Zuwayda in central Gaza, Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary also said many Palestinians have no other option but to remain in flooded and flimsy tents since their neighbourhoods were destroyed by Israel and shelters are full.
“Parents are unable to [buy] their children winter clothes, shoes and slippers,” she said. “Families are left helpless, without knowing what to do.”
Late on Saturday, the Israeli military fired flares in areas southeast of Khan Younis city, sources in southern Gaza told Al Jazeera. Armies generally launch flares to highlight enemy positions and indicate incoming attacks.
Earlier, Israel launched air strikes inside Gaza ceasefire’s “yellow line” demarcation near Khan Younis as well as Gaza City in the north.
