More than 400,000 homes destroyed in Gaza have forced residents to choose between flooded tents and unstable, partially collapsed buildings as winter storms arrive. Recent torrential rains killed at least 17 people and left roughly 90% of displacement shelters flooded. The UN says 1.3 million Palestinians urgently need shelter; aid groups urge Israel to allow more life-saving supplies into Gaza while local rescue teams warn they lack heavy machinery to recover survivors.
Soaked Tents or Collapsing Ruins: Gazans Face a Harrowing Winter Choice
CNN
Palestinians in Gaza face an impossible choice this winter: remain in flooded, inadequate tents or shelter inside partially destroyed buildings that could collapse at any moment. More than 400,000 homes have been destroyed in the war, leaving hundreds of thousands with no safe options as torrential rains and strong winds arrive.
Hamad, Khan Younis: Hiyam Abu Nabah and her family have no tent and are living in the gutted shell of a building in the Hamad neighborhood of Khan Younis. The upper floors have pancaked above their shelter, there are no protective walls, and debris and sand fall through the exposed ceiling. Electricity is gone; exposed wires now hold clothes to keep them off the wet floor.
Iman Al-Atoutt repairs her tent after days of rain in a makeshift camp for displaced Palestinians set up on the beach in Gaza City on Tuesday. - Abdel Kareem Hana/AP
“On the first day of the storm, we could hear the stones cracking above our heads. Sand was falling into our eyes… this is not a life,” Abu Nabah says.
Nearby, Awn Al Haj demonstrates the instability by poking the roof with a stick as stones and sand crumble away. The roof is in fact the collapsed base of the apartment above, with twisted steel girders bearing the weight of floors that have pancaked down. Residents shore up crumbling walls with mud and cover gaping holes with tarpaulin — temporary fixes that only delay catastrophe.
Last week’s storms and floods killed at least 17 people in Gaza, including children, Palestinian Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmoud Basal said. Several deaths were linked to building collapses. Authorities report that roughly 90% of displacement shelters were completely flooded and more than 90 residential buildings were affected.
Children try to warm themselves around the burning fires as Palestinians living in the Jabalia neighborhood in northern Gaza continue to carry on their daily lives under harsh conditions on Wednesday. - Khames Alrefi/Anadolu/Getty Images
In al-Shati camp, a partially damaged building collapsed, killing a man and injuring two others; neighbors said winter weather was the final straw after war damage. Mohammad Fathi of the Gaza Civil Defense, the territory’s emergency service, said teams recovered survivors but lack heavy machinery such as excavators needed to dig people out from under rubble. “With every winter storm, many families and many children will die,” he warned.
The United Nations estimates that 1.3 million Palestinians urgently need shelter this winter. Israeli agency COGAT reports it has allowed in nearly 310,000 tents and tarpaulins recently, along with more than 1,800 truckloads of warm blankets and clothing. Aid agencies and the UN are calling on Israel to allow more sustained humanitarian access and supplies into Gaza; the UN says some assistance remains blocked.
Palestinians living in the Nuseirat Refugee Camp struggle maintaining their daily lives amid the rubble in the central Gaza Strip on December 17, 2025. - Hassan Jedi/Anadolu/Getty Images
Officials also reported tragic weather-related deaths of infants in recent storms, including a two-week-old and an eight-month-old who succumbed to hypothermia. With about 90% of displacement shelters flooded, many families are being pushed back into precarious, gravity-defying shells that once were homes and apartment blocks.
What residents say: “People are afraid,” said Bakr Mahmoud al-Sheikh Ali in Khan Younis. “But they tell you, ‘Brother, I need shelter. I do not want a tent and water in the winter, in this cold weather… whatever happens, happens.’” The overwhelming sentiment from displaced Gazans is the same: this is no way to live.
Humanitarian outlook: Local emergency teams lack essential equipment to perform large-scale rescues, and humanitarian agencies warn that immediate winterized shelter, heating, and durable coverings are needed to prevent further loss of life. International groups continue to urge rapid, expanded access for life-saving aid while families choose between perilous options.
Contributors to the reporting included Mohammad Al Sawalhi and Tareq El Helou.
