Winter storm worsens humanitarian crisis in Gaza amid occupation’s aid restrictions
A Palestinian woman was killed, and several of her family members were injured after a building collapsed due to storms in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, Anadolu news agency reported, citing local medics.
The medical sources said the wall of a home that was damaged in past occupation’s attacks fell upon the tent of a 30-year-old woman in the Al-Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City.
This comes as heavy rain flooded tents sheltering displaced families in Gaza City, while strong winds destroyed hundreds of others, as a severe winter storm continues to hit the area for the second consecutive day amid a lack of resources and protective supplies, according to WAFA news agency.
The humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip has worsened as the region faces a powerful low-pressure system accompanied by torrential rain and strong winds. Displaced families remain without adequate protection or relief assistance, forcing many to endure another night in extreme cold, as winds tore apart what remained of their worn-out tents, leaving them unfit for shelter in such conditions.
Thousands of displaced people are living in harsh conditions, with freezing temperatures and strong winds battering tents made of nylon and thin fabric that offer little to no protection from rain and storms. Most families are sheltering in streets, stadiums, public squares, and schools, without basic means to protect them from the cold and severe weather.
The crisis is further aggravated by the lack of fuel, leaving families unable to secure any form of heating as nighttime temperatures drop sharply.
“We have been living in this tent for two years. Every time it rains and the tent collapses over our heads, we try to put up new pieces of wood,” said Shaima Wadi, a mother of four children who was displaced from Jabaliya in the north. “With how expensive everything has become, and without any income, we can barely afford clothes for our children or mattresses for them to sleep on.”
Gaza’s Health Ministry has said dozens of people, including a two-week-old infant, have died from hypothermia or after weather-related collapses of war-damaged homes. Aid organizations have called for more shelters and other humanitarian aid to be allowed into the territory.
Emergency workers have warned people not to stay in damaged buildings. But with so much of the territory reduced to rubble by the Zionist occupation’s strikes, there are few places to escape the rain.
Although the ceasefire took effect on Oct. 10, 2025, living conditions have not significantly improved, as the Zionist occupation has failed to meet its commitments under the agreement, including allowing agreed quantities of food, aid, medical supplies and mobile housing into Gaza.
The occupation has also fallen short of fulfilling its obligations under the first phase of the agreement, particularly the halt to hostilities, killing at least 414 Palestinians and injuring 1,142 others since the ceasefire was announced.
