DaysofPal – Without warning or fanfare, the bitter cold has returned for a third winter amid the Israeli war of annihilation, claiming the lives of displaced Palestinians living in tents across the Gaza Strip.
More than 1.5 million people are currently sheltering in tents and makeshift displacement centers that lack even the most basic requirements for humane living or protection from harsh weather.
With helplessness and grief, survivors of the war have been forced to face a winter that has attacked their fragile shelters from its very first days.
Torrential rain flooded worn-out mattresses and blankets, followed by freezing nighttime temperatures that preyed on weakened bodies, particularly children.
Displaced families, whose homes and residential towers were destroyed by Israeli forces and who were forcibly pushed toward coastal areas, are deprived of nearly all necessities of life: adequate shelter or alternatives, cooking gas and fuel, warm clothing and blankets, and proper healthcare.
In a firsthand account, the mother of nine-month-old Rahaf Abu Jazar, who died in the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis, said that severe cold and the flooding of their tent by rainwater were the direct causes of her baby’s death.
She said Rahaf had been in good health and showed no signs of illness.
“I breastfed her before she went to sleep,” the grieving mother said. “We woke up to find her body frozen. The cold attacked her brutally and silently.”
Rahaf’s father described her death as a “devastating shock,” adding, “If we had a home or even a shelter caravan, the baby would not have died.”
Rahaf is among several victims of the cold wave, alongside infant Taim Al-Khawaja, whose family lives in a partially destroyed home in Al-Shati refugee camp, and Hadeel Hamdan (9), whose family is sheltering in a school in Gaza City.
These children join a list of 15 children recorded by the Ministry of Health by the end of February 2025 who died due to freezing inside tents or displacement centers.
The recent “Piron” polar low-pressure system worsened conditions dramatically, flooding all organized and informal displacement camps.
Tents were submerged, turning camps into pools of water and thick mud after rain poured inside shelters unable to withstand the intensity and volume of rainfall, according to the Civil Defense. Thousands of families found themselves trapped by water, cold, and darkness.
Inside one informal displacement camp, displaced woman Iman Al-Sultan struggled to remove water seeping into her tent using basic tools.
“We live in a worn-out tent, the rain flooded it from all sides, soaking all the mattresses and blankets.” she said.
The mother of four voiced her fear for her children: “I don’t know where my children will sleep. Everything is wet. Water is pooling in front of the tent, and I’m afraid my children will die from the cold.”
After spending an entire night awake inside his family’s tent, Nizar Hassouna 60 said there is no solution to the winter crisis except rebuilding Gaza or providing temporary housing units, caravans.
Hassouna, who lost his home in Gaza City’s Al-Zeitoun neighborhood, said: “The rain flooded the tents and blankets. We lived through two nights of terror. Adults may cope, but what about the children, what is their fault?”
The disaster forced his son, Hassan, to take his family from a displacement camp in Al-Zawaida to spend the night inside a ward at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah to protect his children from freezing to death.
“Men in Gaza can no longer protect their families,” Hassan said bitterly. “Bombing and destruction left us without homes, and tents are not a solution for living.”
The father of five accused international and UN organizations of failing Gaza’s families, citing the absence of rapid response and solutions.
“Where is the food aid? Where are the blankets and winter clothes?” he asked, concluding in despair: “We’ve been living in tents for two years, what can we possibly do in the face of this catastrophe?”
The United Nations has attributed the rapid deterioration of conditions in displacement camps during rainfall to weak infrastructure, the absence of proper drainage systems, and the overcrowding of thousands of families in sites unprepared to withstand rain and cold.
Meanwhile, estimates by the Government Media Office indicate that around 93 percent of tents, approximately 125,000 out of 135,000, are no longer fit for habitation.
The Gaza Strip currently needs about 250,000 tents and 100,000 caravans to provide temporary shelter until reconstruction becomes possible.
As winter deepens, Gaza’s displaced families remain exposed, caught between relentless cold, devastated infrastructure, and a humanitarian response struggling to keep pace with the scale of the crisis.
Shortlink for this post: https://daysofpalestine.ps/?p=70375
