DaysofPal – Over a year into Israel’s war on Gaza, tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians are struggling to survive in crumbling, overcrowded shelters that offer little more than a roof, often damaged, leaking, or half-destroyed.
According to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), nearly 75,000 displaced people are now packed into its buildings across the Gaza Strip, many of which are themselves “damaged and overcrowded.”
“Overcrowded shelters in Gaza leave little space or privacy,” UNRWA said in a statement. “For many displaced women and girls, daily life means coping without dignity, safety, or adequate hygiene. Limited access to healthcare and basic hygiene supplies makes each day a struggle.”
UNRWA currently operates over 70 shelters, housing tens of thousands of families under dire humanitarian conditions. The agency warns that the situation is deteriorating fast, with unstable structures, unexploded ordnance, and limited access to essential aid deepening the crisis.
The destruction of Gaza’s infrastructure has left vast areas unsafe to inhabit. Humanitarian and Inclusion (HIIP), an international aid group, recently warned that clearing the Strip of unexploded ordnance could take two to three decades.
Nick Orr, an explosive ordnance expert with HIIP, described Gaza as “a terrifying and unmarked minefield,” saying that complete clearance is impossible. “There’s ordnance buried underground that we’ll be finding for generations to come,” he told Al-Monitor.
Shelter Supplies Fall Dangerously Short
Even as the danger mounts, aid remains restricted. UNRWA reports that the amount of shelter material entering Gaza meets only a fraction of actual needs for more than 1.5 million displaced Palestinians. Israeli authorities have imposed complex restrictions on the entry of tents, blankets, mattresses, and temporary building materials, crippling relief efforts.
On the ground, families live in tattered tents scattered across open fields and alleyways, trying to repair torn blankets and plastic sheets for warmth. Each night brings new hardship as temperatures drop and the sick, elderly, and children struggle against the cold.
Humanitarian workers say the trickle of supplies allowed in is “deliberately insufficient,” barely enough to sustain life. International organizations warn that without immediate access to fuel, blankets, and heating equipment, Gaza faces a catastrophic winter marked by illness, disease, and psychological trauma.
UNRWA has urged the international community to act before winter turns Gaza’s misery into a full-blown disaster. “People are surviving without dignity, safety, or warmth,” the agency said. “This is not just a crisis; it’s a collapse of humanity.”
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