DaysofPal – In the Gaza Strip, the tent is no longer a temporary refuge. It has become a permanent address of human misery. Under a tightened Israeli blockade, humanitarian solutions remain stalled and trapped in promises, while tens of thousands of displaced families confront a harsh reality: tents are no longer fit for living, neither in winter nor in summer.
As Israel continues to block the entry of prefabricated housing units through border crossings, the cries of families who lost their homes grow louder. Today, they live in conditions devoid of even the most basic standards of dignified shelter, raising painful questions about the effectiveness of limited initiatives in the face of catastrophic need.
“A Tent Is Not a Home”
Inside a displacement tent in the Mawasi area of Khan Younis, 37-year-old Mahmoud al-Haddad watches his six children shiver from the cold as rainwater seeps into their worn-out bedding.
“We lost our six-story home, and now we are expected to accept life in a tent,” al-Haddad told the Palestinian Information Center. “A tent is not a home. It is a piece of fabric that barely covers us in summer and drowns us in winter. We are not asking for luxury, just a caravan that preserves what remains of our dignity and privacy.”
The suffering is even more severe for the elderly and the sick. Sixty-year-old Salwa Abu Moussa, a widow, lives with her four children and their families in three adjoining tents.
“I am a sick woman,” she said, her voice weighed down by exhaustion. “The dampness eats away at my bones. A caravan is not a luxury for me—it is a sheltered room where I can take my medication and sleep with dignity, away from the eyes of others.”
A Local Initiative Against the Blockade
In an attempt to break the restrictions, the Algerian Al-Baraka Association announced a local initiative to manufacture prefabricated housing units inside Gaza as an emergency alternative to caravans barred from entering through the crossings.
The association’s deputy director, Hatem al-Yazji, said production has begun on 30 units in the first phase, to be allocated primarily to southern Gaza as an urgent humanitarian priority. He stressed that the initiative is only a starting point.
Al-Yazji explained that the association plans to expand the project northward by establishing an integrated residential city aimed at helping residents remain in their areas and providing a minimum standard of dignified living for affected families. He emphasized that the project is being implemented in full coordination with the Ministry of Public Works and Housing, following clear and transparent distribution criteria.
High Costs and Scarce Materials
A senior official at the Ministry of Public Works, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the units are being produced locally by a specialized company using insulated, moisture-resistant wood to create relatively healthy living conditions for displaced families.
The official noted that each unit costs between $12,000 and $15,000 due to severe shortages of raw materials and soaring prices caused by the closure of crossings. The cost also reflects adherence to thermal and water insulation standards suitable for Gaza’s harsh climate, according to the Filastin newspaper.
Despite their importance, the ministry warned that such initiatives address only a fraction of the enormous housing gap. Gaza needs more than 200,000 housing units to shelter displaced families, making the production of a few dozen caravans little more than temporary first aid for deep wounds.
Tents Fail Minimum Humanitarian Standards
Civil engineer Naji al-Faqaawi stressed that continued reliance on tents as housing for displaced people violates basic engineering and humanitarian standards.
He explained that tents provide neither thermal nor water insulation, nor minimum levels of privacy and safety, making them unsuitable for habitation, especially during winter.
He added that blocking the entry of prefabricated units and shelter materials exacerbates the crisis and leaves tens of thousands of families in constant danger, warning that turning displacement into a long-term reality carries serious social and health consequences. Allowing safer temporary alternatives, such as caravans, he said, is an urgent humanitarian step that cannot be delayed.
Under international humanitarian law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention, an occupying power is obligated to ensure shelter and protection for civilians and to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid. The United Nations, however, has confirmed that these obligations are not being respected in Gaza, where the blockade and the prevention of shelter materials are used as a form of prohibited collective punishment.
Reports by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) have repeatedly warned that tents do not provide adequate housing and fail to meet minimum humanitarian standards, particularly in winter, posing serious health and security risks—especially for children and the elderly.
A Humanitarian Message That Does Not Absolve the World
The Ministry of Public Works described the Algerian Al-Baraka initiative as a humanitarian and political message in the face of Israeli restrictions but stressed that it does not absolve the international community of its legal and moral responsibilities, nor does it replace the need to enforce the entry of shelter materials and launch a genuine reconstruction process.
While nails are hammered in local workshops to bring hope to just 30 families, hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians continue to wait, eyes fixed on the international community, for a decision that will end the era of tents and restore a roof that protects them and a simple right to live with dignity.
The dean of the Islamic University of Gaza’s Faculty of Health Sciences, Dr. Abdel Raouf al-Manaama, has cautioned about the growing health risks faced by displaced families who must spend the winter in tents.
He described the situation as a manifestation of what is medically known as “wet tent syndrome,” a condition resulting from prolonged living in environments lacking basic health standards.
Al-Manaama explained that the syndrome encompasses a range of health problems caused by extreme cold, persistent dampness, poor ventilation, and the near-collapse of health services. These conditions expose displaced people to respiratory diseases such as asthma, bronchitis, and pneumonia, alongside rising viral infections, particularly among children.
He also pointed to widespread skin diseases, including fungal infections and dermatitis, resulting from constant moisture and limited ability to maintain personal hygiene, compounded by weakened immunity due to malnutrition and cold. Beyond physical illness, he warned of severe psychological and social effects, including sleep disorders, anxiety, depression, chronic insecurity, and loss of privacy.
Children, the elderly, pregnant women, people with disabilities, and patients with chronic illnesses, he said, are the most vulnerable. Al-Manaama warned that ignoring this crisis would further strain an already exhausted health system and could lead to higher illness and mortality rates, calling for an urgent response that goes beyond temporary solutions and ensures minimum human dignity for Gaza’s displaced population.
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