Nearly 1.8 million people in Gaza are at risk of entering another winter without adequate shelter, as damaged buildings, deteriorating tents and shortages of humanitarian supplies leave families exposed to rain, flooding and cold, the United Nations has warned.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on October 9 that most of Gaza’s roughly two million residents would face winter without sufficient protection, despite a ceasefire announced in October 2025 after two years of Israeli bombardment and restrictions on the entry of aid. The agency urged the international community to provide additional funding and called on Israel to ease restrictions on essential humanitarian supplies entering the Palestinian territory.
More than half of the tents and makeshift shelters currently in use are in poor condition and need to be replaced, according to the IOM. With few alternatives available, many families have taken refuge in buildings damaged during the war, some of which risk collapsing.
In September, 21 people, including 12 children, were killed when a damaged six-storey building collapsed in Gaza City, the agency said.
“Shelter materials must enter quickly, predictably and at the scale required,” IOM Director General Amy Pope said, warning that the supplies currently available would meet only 17% of Gaza’s identified winter shelter needs.
The agency said approximately 8,600 emergency shelter kits were ready for delivery from locations outside Gaza but had repeatedly been turned away at crossing points by Israeli authorities. Other materials, including tents, shelter kits, wood and tools, have also been held up outside the territory. The approaching winter is expected to compound the difficulties faced by displaced families. The IOM warned that the El Niño weather phenomenon could bring heavier rainfall in 2026, increasing the risk of flooding and further weakening buildings already damaged by Israeli attacks.
Damaged drainage systems have left communities particularly vulnerable to flooding, the agency said.
Karl Baker, the IOM’s regional crisis coordinator for Gaza, said humanitarian agencies were trying to bring as much shelter material into the territory as possible before winter sets in. Speaking from Amman, Jordan, he said the rains had already begun, while the volume of supplies expected to enter Gaza would fall short of what residents required. Baker also pointed to funding shortages that had delayed preparations for the winter months. Although funding had begun arriving, he said, it remained insufficient to meet the needs of an estimated 1.8 million to 1.9 million people requiring some form of shelter assistance.
The durability of available shelter materials presents another challenge. Baker said the IOM would ordinarily provide more robust transitional housing, including plywood structures and relief housing units, during other humanitarian emergencies. In Gaza, however, families have largely relied on tents that typically last around six months.
Repeated displacement further reduces their lifespan. Families forced to flee at short notice often leave tents behind or see them damaged in the process, making it difficult to maintain even temporary shelter. Baker said the quality of shelter materials entering Gaza needed to improve, with more durable supplies required to provide families with greater protection.
The warning comes as the World Health Organization raised concerns in September about the health risks associated with the rainy season, including an increased threat from mosquitoes and the spread of disease.
Israel has faced mounting international criticism over humanitarian conditions in Gaza and restrictions on aid deliveries. Israeli authorities have maintained that they restrict certain items because they could be used for military purposes, accusing Hamas of planning further attacks.
For families already displaced by the war, the shortage of adequate shelter means another winter of exposure to harsh weather, with humanitarian agencies warning that preparations remain far below the scale of need.
This article was prepared with AI assistance and is based on information available in the public domain.
