Displaced Palestinians without tents as Gaza war enters second winter

Gaza's displaced population faces a second winter of war as Israel's 14-month-long assault continues with no sign of ending.

Gazans have endured over a year of devastation and inadequate access to essential provisions, including tents and warm clothing.

Maysoun Kahil, a mother of six sheltering in the Yarmouk Stadium in Gaza City, told The New Arab that rainfall has made her nights difficult, with her dilapidated cloth tent soaking through during rain storms.

"All of my children got wet and cried for long hours," she said, adding: "I do not have enough money to buy a new tent or even to buy winter clothes that would help them get some warmth."

The Kahil family, like thousands of others, relies on the entry of meagre humanitarian aid into Gaza.

"We receive a little food, but we have not received tents nor even blankets or clothes for us and our children," she said.

The lack of provisions has left her with only summer clothes while winter sets in, and the recent change in weather made her ill and bedridden, lacking medicine to recover.

"I'm afraid my children will die from the cold if we don't get a tent, blankets, winter clothes and food to help us stay warm," she said.

Aid entry into the Gaza Strip is at historically low levels, particularly in the north, where Israel has imposed an intensified siege while carrying out furious attacks which kill dozens of people every day.

Last October, the US gave a deadline to Israel to increase aid flow or face a cut to military aid.

However, aid agencies have accused Israel of failing to meet the demands, even as the US said that Israel was not in violation of relevant US laws

Mohammad Alkhatib, Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) Deputy Director of Programmes in Gaza, told The New Arab that the aid shortfalls were creating a cycle of hardship for Gaza's displaced.

"Unfortunately, the winter will worsen this cycle and make it uglier and more intractable," he said, adding: "This is because winter comes with its own specific requirements and added burdens. Imagine the winter winds, the rain and the cold weather."

Alkhatib highlighted that as well as improper shelter, a lack of clothing, blankets and safe heating, the risks of disease will be accentuated. 

"Winter conditions in such situations bring with it the increased risk of specific diseases such as upper respiratory tract infections, plus the wholesale destruction of critical infrastructure massively increases the risk of flooding and further contamination of the fragile sewage system," he said.

"All of this leads to medical and other humanitarian needs that the already-devastated system cannot meet."

The lack of adequate shelter in Gaza is a result of Israel's siege and war. It has refused to allow tents into the enclave for months, according to UNRWA Director of Communications Juliette Touma, who told The New Arab that Israel says tent poles are classified as dual use.

Israel defines dual-use items those that, while civilian in nature, could also be used militarily.

The New Arab has requested comment from the COGAT, the Israeli agency responsible for aid coordination to Gaza, but received no response at the time of publication.

Touma said that winter was set to make the humanitarian situation in Gaza worse.

"People need blankets, winter clothing, heating and healthy food. All are in very short supply in Gaza due to 14 months of war and a very tight siege from the Israeli authorities."

Touma also affirmed that UNRWA would continue to operate to the best of its abilities through the winter to 30 January 2025 when the Israeli Knesset's decision to ban UNRWA from operating in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza comes into force.

Compared with last winter, Israel has destroyed manyd more buildings in Gaza as its campaign has moved from city to city throughout the year.

According to an assessment from the UN's Satellite Centre (UNOSAT) on 13 November 2023, Gaza was entering winter with 12 percent of the total structures in the enclave having been damaged or destroyed by Israel in its assault.

Most of the destruction was centred on the regions of North Gaza and Gaza, where the military had focused its bombardment and ground assault.

Israel's offensives have shifted southward however, and nearly a year later a 29 September UNOSAT assessment revealed that 66 percent of the total structures in Gaza had been damaged or destroyed, with Khan Younis and Rafah experiencing the highest rise in damage since a prior assessment in July. 

As well as damaging infrastructure, Israel's ariel bombardment and ground operations in Gaza have killed 43,972 people in the enclave and wounded a further 104,000.

Khadija Abu Jahl has been unable to find a tent for shelter for her family of seven following their displacement from Beit Lahia in northern Gaza.

Instead, her family lives in a room among the remains of a destroyed house in Gaza City, using nylon to close the broken door.

"We die a thousand times a day as we flee from a quick death to a slow death," she told The New Arab, adding: "We live an inhuman life and don't know whether we will survive or not".

"I fear that we will face the coming winter without any of the basic necessities of life for me and my children. My husband died in the war, and I am currently struggling to survive and save my children."