Winter rains and aid obstacles worsen ordeal for one million Gazans

This article is published in association with United Nations.

Nearly one million Gazans risk spending winter without adequate shelter as UN agencies struggle to provide cold weather assistance, amid ongoing Israeli bombardment, repeated evacuation orders and restrictions on aid deliveries, they warned on Wednesday.

In an update, the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, stressed that attacks on civilian infrastructure have not stopped, “particularly in North Gaza, where the UN World Health Organization (WHO) reports appalling conditions at Kamal Adwan Hospital – and where 61 out of 95 attacks on school buildings since 6 October 2024 took place”.

Flooding has already caused damage to makeshift shelters across the Gaza Strip, but humanitarian teams have only been able to provide assistance to 285,000 people to carry out repairs between September and late November, because deliveries of materials into the enclave remain so limited.

“At least 945,000 others now require urgent winterization support to protect them from the rain and cold weather,” OCHA said, noting that “waiting outside Gaza are 58,000 sealing-off kits and over 36,000 tarpaulins that have already been procured to cover the needs of about 400,000 people, but these would need two months to be brought in at the current rate of 10 shelter trucks entering Gaza per week”.

Truck stop

Aid convoys continue to face “extreme insecurity” once inside Gaza, OCHA warned. “On 11 December, a 70-truck convoy entering through the Kerem Shalom crossing was violently attacked by looters, leading to the loss of nearly all food and aid supplies. On the same day, a WFP convoy leaving the Kissufim crossing also came under fire, with four out of five trucks violently looted.

Humanitarians have stressed that such attacks can be avoided, pointing to an agreement last Tuesday with the Israeli authorities that allowed a UN convoy to use the Philadelphi corridor – separating southern Gaza from Egypt – to reach nearly 200,000 people facing critical food shortages.

OCHA reported that between 1 and 16 December, out of 339 planned aid operations across the Gaza Strip requiring coordination with the Israeli authorities, 30 per cent (102) were approved, 42 per cent (141) were denied, 18 per cent (62) were impeded, and 10 per cent (34) were cancelled, owing to logistical and security challenges.

Disease surge 

As temperatures drop, the UN health agency has reported a rise in infections including respiratory illnesses, diarrhoea and jaundice. In 2024, over 1.2 million respiratory infections were recorded, along with 570,000 cases of acute diarrhoea. 

These diseases are expected to worsen, especially among children.

UN humanitarians also warned that many displaced people have built shelters on the rubble of destroyed homes in Khan Younis, Ma’an and Bani Suhaila. These structures are fragile and at risk of collapsing in the coming rains.

Besieged in north Gaza

Meanwhile, humanitarian aid to northern Gaza continues to be blocked by the Israeli military, which has been carrying out a ground offensive since 6 October, with clashes reported with Palestinian armed groups. 

Despite multiple attempts, UN aid missions to besieged areas such as Beit Lahiya, Beit Hanoun and Jabalia have been “largely denied for more than 10 weeks”, OCHA said.

Immediate action is needed to protect vulnerable populations during the winter, humanitarians insist, particularly for women and children in need of basic supplies such as warm clothing, nappies and baby formula.

Rising toll

In the last week, 273 Palestinians were killed and 853 were injured, according to the Palestinian authorities in Gaza. And since war erupted on 7 October 2023 after Hamas-led terror attacks in Israel, at least 45,059 Palestinians have been killed with 107,041 injured.

Citing the Israeli military, OCHA noted that between 7 October 2023 and 17 December 2024, more than 1,586 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed, the majority on 7 October 2023 and its immediate aftermath. This number includes 386 soldiers killed in Gaza or along the border in Israel and 2,488 injured since the beginning of the ground operation.

It is estimated that 100 Israelis and foreign nationals remain hostage in Gaza, including those declared dead and whose bodies have not been released.