The arrival of winter has intensified Gaza’s humanitarian crisis, increasing pain and daily hardship for the wounded, children and elderly living in damaged tents and makeshift shelters. Nearly 80% of buildings in the Gaza Strip are damaged or destroyed, and about 1.5 million people have lost their homes. Aid deliveries remain limited—only 60,000 of 300,000 requested tents have arrived—while recent storms caused building collapses and damaged roughly 42,000 shelters. UN officials and regional ministers are urging immediate, unrestricted humanitarian access to prevent further loss of life.
Winter Deepens Gaza Crisis: Cold Intensifies Suffering for Wounded, Children and Displaced
Palestinians, whose homes were destroyed and who are unable to return to them, take shelter in the Furkan Mosque in Khan Younis, Gaza [Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu]
The onset of winter has compounded an already severe humanitarian emergency in Gaza, making life especially unbearable for the wounded, children and the elderly among hundreds of thousands displaced by months of conflict. Survivors and aid groups say limited aid access, damaged shelter and freezing temperatures are magnifying physical pain and everyday hardships.
Personal toll
Nine-year-old Assad al-Madhna lost his left hand when gunfire struck a group of children playing in al-Zuwayda in central Gaza; the same attack also wounded his leg. As cold weather grips the besieged enclave, Assad says the metal rods and pins stabilising his leg stiffen in low temperatures, turning every step into a slow, agonising effort. “I can’t play with other children as in winter, my legs and hands hurt a lot,” he told Al Jazeera. “I haven’t received any prosthetic, [I] struggle to change my clothes, and going to the toilet in this cold is a real challenge. Without my parents, I can’t manage it. At night, the severe cold becomes unbearable.”
Eighteen-year-old Waed Murad survived an attack that killed seven members of her family in a single strike. She now lives with long-term injuries and says falling temperatures intensify nerve pain, disrupt sleep and threaten recovery. “I can’t keep myself warm because of the severe cold with the metal bars and pins always freezing,” she told Al Jazeera. “I am living in a tent with no heating at all. Every time I hear the wind, I feel the pain will get worse, as the cold will affect the metal fixation devices even more.”
Scale of destruction and displacement
United Nations data show nearly 80 percent of buildings in the Gaza Strip have been destroyed or damaged by the conflict. Of Gaza’s roughly 2.2 million residents, about 1.5 million have lost their homes, according to Amjad Shawa, director of the Palestinian NGO Network in Gaza. Aid agencies had requested more than 300,000 tents to shelter displaced people, but only about 60,000 have been delivered so far, Shawa told AFP, highlighting restrictions on aid deliveries into the territory.
Humanitarian access and international response
International officials have raised alarm about recent measures affecting aid operations. Israel announced a suspension of operations by several international non-governmental organisations in the occupied Palestinian territory, a move the UN Secretary-General called deeply concerning and urged be reversed. "This announcement comes on top of earlier restrictions that have already delayed critical food, medical, hygiene and shelter supplies from entering Gaza," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, warning the action will further aggravate the humanitarian crisis.
Foreign ministers from Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Türkiye, Pakistan and Indonesia issued a joint statement urging “immediate, full and unhindered” deliveries of humanitarian aid, saying deteriorating conditions—flooded camps, damaged tents, collapsing war-weakened buildings and acute cold combined with malnutrition—have left nearly 1.9 million displaced Palestinians especially exposed.
Weather and recent damage
Nighttime temperatures in Gaza have recently ranged between about 8 and 12 degrees Celsius (46–53°F). Earlier this month heavy rain and cold led to multiple building collapses and widespread damage to shelters: Gaza’s civil defence agency reported at least 18 deaths related to building collapses or exposure to cold, and the UN humanitarian office said 17 buildings collapsed during the storm while roughly 42,000 tents and makeshift shelters were fully or partially damaged.
Outlook
With winter weather continuing and many displaced families sheltering in inadequate tents or damaged buildings, humanitarian agencies and regional governments are calling for expanded and unfettered aid access, more shelter supplies and urgent measures to protect the most vulnerable in Gaza.
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