al Jazeera:

Palestinians reel under winter rains as Israel blocks Gaza shelter supplies

Palestinian families call for help as Israel's two-year military assault has left hundreds of thousands vulnerable.

Published On 15 Nov 202515 Nov 2025

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Cold temperatures and heavy rainfall are worsening already dire conditions for displaced Palestinian families across Gaza, as Israel continues to block the deliveries of tents and other critical shelter supplies into the besieged territory.

Palestinians in Gaza attempted on Saturday to dig trenches around their flimsy tents to keep the water from flooding their tents, as others took shelter in destroyed buildings, even those at risk of collapse.

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“I have been crying since morning,” a displaced Palestinian mother of two told Al Jazeera from Gaza City, pointing to her family’s tent, which had been flooded as a result of heavy rainfall overnight.

The woman, who did not provide her name, said she was struggling to provide for her children after several members of her family, including her husband, were killed in Israel’s genocidal war, which began in October 2023.

“I am asking for help to get a proper tent, a mattress and a blanket. I want my children to have suitable clothes,” she said. “I don’t have anyone to turn to … There is no one to help me.”

The severe weather came as humanitarian groups have been warning for weeks that Palestinians living in tent camps and other makeshift shelters do not have what they need to withstand blistering winter conditions in the coastal enclave.

Many have been forcibly displaced multiple times as a result of Israel’s two-year bombardment of Gaza, which damaged and destroyed more than 198,000 structures across the Strip, according to United Nations figures.

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Humanitarian groups have urged Israel to lift all restrictions on aid to the Strip, but the Israeli government has maintained its severe restrictions on the flow of humanitarian aid despite a ceasefire deal with the Palestinian group Hamas that came into effect on October 10.

Aid groups said earlier this month that about 260,000 Palestinian families in Gaza, totalling almost 1.5 million people, were vulnerable as the cold winter months approached.

‘Misery on top of misery’

At the same time, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has said it has enough shelter supplies to help as many as 1.3 million Palestinians – but cannot bring them into Gaza due to the Israeli restrictions.

On Saturday, UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said deliveries were more critical than ever as this winter coincides with Gaza’s displacement crisis.

“It’s cold and wet in Gaza. Displaced people are now facing a harsh winter without the basics to protect them from the rain and cold,” he said in a social media post.

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Describing the humanitarian toll as “misery on top of misery”, Lazzarini noted that Gaza’s fragile shelters “quickly flood, soaking people’s belongings”.

“More shelter supplies are urgently needed for the people,” he added.

Reporting from az-Zuwayda in central Gaza, Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary also said many Palestinians have no other option but to remain in flooded and flimsy tents since their neighbourhoods were destroyed by Israel and shelters are full.

“Parents are unable to [buy] their children winter clothes, shoes and slippers,” she said. “Families are left helpless, without knowing what to do.”

Late on Saturday, the Israeli military also fired flares in areas southeast of Khan Younis city, sources in southern Gaza told Al Jazeera. Armies generally launch flares to highlight enemy positions and indicate incoming attacks.

Earlier, Israeli forces had launched air strikes near southern Khan Younis as well as northern Gaza City.

“Despite the guns falling silent in the Gaza Strip, the sound of Israeli air strikes continue behind the yellow line, the boundary set under the first phase of the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel,” Al Jazeera’s Ibrahim al-Khalili said, reporting from Gaza City.

“One was in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, and the other happened in the Zeitoun neighbourhood in Gaza City behind the ‘yellow line’. The situation is getting much more dire for families who live near this yellow line, including my family, who lives a few metres from the line,” he said.

There were no immediate reports of casualties from the attacks.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, Israeli forces have killed 260 people and wounded 632 others in the territory since the ceasefire came into effect.

Overall, Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 69,182 Palestinians and wounded 170,703 others, according to the ministry.