DaysofPal- The Civil Defense Directorate in Rafah has issued a stark warning about the growing risks faced by tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians living in deteriorating tents across southern Gaza, as winter weather approaches.
In a brief statement on Thursday, the agency cautioned that families sheltering in the coastal areas of Rafah, the Mawasi district of Khan Younis, and along the beachfront are in grave danger due to the lack of basic protection against cold temperatures, rain, and strong winds. Many of these tents, it said, are torn or erected on unstable ground near demolished homes.
The Civil Defense urged humanitarian organizations, emergency teams, and local authorities to intensify relief efforts and increase intervention despite the severe shortage of resources, warning that Gaza could soon face a “humanitarian catastrophe.”
Displaced residents not only fear flooding from heavy rain but also the risk of tents being uprooted by strong winds or water seeping in from the ground beneath them.
Adnan Abu Hasna, spokesperson for the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), echoed the warnings, saying that a major disaster looms unless the Israeli occupation allows the entry of tents and essential shelter materials into Gaza. “Most of the existing tents are worn out after years of use,” he said, adding that the suffering of the displaced has only deepened since the Israeli campaign of destruction and mass displacement.
According to UNRWA, about 75,000 displaced Palestinians are currently taking refuge inside 100 of its facilities, while tens of thousands more are camped outside these shelters in dire humanitarian conditions.
The agency noted that 6,000 trucks of humanitarian supplies, enough to sustain Gaza’s population for three months, remain blocked at the border, awaiting Israeli approval to enter.
The ongoing crisis comes despite a ceasefire agreement that took effect on October 10, 2025, following two years of relentless Israeli genocidal bombardment that killed nearly 70,000 Palestinians and wounded over 170,000 others.
As winter storms draw closer, aid workers warn that without immediate international action, Gaza’s displaced population, already battered by war, hunger, and disease, could now face a deadly wave of cold, flooding, and exposure.
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