Gaza’s Humanitarian Crisis Deepens as Winter Storms Flood Displacement Camps

The humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip has deteriorated to catastrophic levels as recent winter storms battered the region, exposing the collapse of basic infrastructure and an urgent need for shelter materials.

Health officials in Gaza said Thursday that heavy rainfall inundated hundreds of tents sheltering displaced families, leading to the death of an eight-month-old infant, Rahaf Abu Jazar, who succumbed to severe cold in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, according to Cairo News Channel.

“We woke up at dawn to find the rain pouring in and the wind blowing on us. Suddenly the baby died from the cold,” her mother told Reuters.

Dr. Adnan Abu Hasna, spokesperson for the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), described the situation as “tragic,” stressing that “the infrastructure is completely destroyed.” Speaking to Cairo News Channel, he said the agency urgently needs “hundreds of thousands of tents” to shelter affected residents.

UNRWA shelters are spread across Gaza but are facing a “severe shortage of equipment needed to handle weather-related disasters,” he added.

The heavy rains submerged most tents across the Strip. The Palestinian Civil Defense reported receiving more than 2,500 distress calls but said it was unable to respond effectively because of fuel shortages and the destruction of hundreds of vehicles and water-pumping machines by Israeli forces.

A UN report warned that 761 displacement sites—home to around 850,000 people—are at high risk of flooding.

Palestinian and UN officials say at least 300,000 new tents are urgently required for some 1.5 million displaced people, as the current shelters are made of worn-out materials.

Ismail Al-Thawabta, head of the Gaza government media office, held Israel “fully responsible for exposing displaced people to climate risks,” accusing it of blocking the entry of 300,000 tents and mobile homes into the Strip.

Although the ceasefire has largely held since October, the war has destroyed most of Gaza’s infrastructure, amplifying the impact of severe weather. Despite a relative increase in aid deliveries, Palestinian health authorities say 383 people have been killed in Israeli airstrikes since the truce began.

On Thursday, paramedics reported that a woman was killed and several others wounded in an Israeli tank shelling in Jabalia, northern Gaza.