In Gaza, 800,000 people now live in dangerous locations prone to flooding

In her family’s shelter, the ground is soaked and her children cannot sleep. 

“Our situation is extremely difficult, and we want someone to help us, at least by providing us with a tent that shelters us and is a proper tent,” Amina told the UN aid coordination office (OCHA) earlier this week. 

Millions of others like Amina, who are threatened by rain, flooding and ongoing bombing need live-saving aid.  

A recent Israeli ban of dozens of humanitarian groups, however, makes that assistance out of reach. A move which a group of independent UN human rights experts warned on Thursday is a violation of international law. 

“This strategy will create conditions that force Palestinians into chronic deprivation, threatening their very survival as a group and further violating the Genocide Convention,” the experts said. “It must be stopped.” 

‘Uninhabitable’ shelters  

OCHA said that 800,000 people — nearly 40 per cent of the population — now live in sites prone to flooding, where winter storms and heavy rain have made shelters uninhabitable. 

As of Tuesday, UN partners reported that hundreds of tents and makeshift shelters were blown away or severely damaged, leaving over 3,000 people exposed to severe weather, while more than 60 inhabited buildings in Gaza City could be at risk of collapse. 

Prohibited waters

OCHA noted that the Israeli military is still deployed in more than half of the Gaza Strip, beyond the “Yellow Line”, where access is either restricted or banned to aid facilities, public infrastructure and agricultural land. 

Detonations of residential buildings have continued, along with bulldozer activity, OCHA said, including near or east of the “Yellow Line”. 

Additionally, access to the sea for Palestinians remains prohibited and there continue to be reports of Palestinian fishermen being killed or detained in the waters just off Gaza. 

Millions worth of aid blocked

Announced as a national security measure on 30 December 2025, Israel’s new regulation bans 37 international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from operating in Gaza and the West Bank. 

As of 31 December, nearly $50 million in life-saving aid remained blocked amid repeated ceasefire violations, according to the group of Human Rights Council-appointed independent experts. They are not UN staff and receive no salary for their work.

In early December, UN agencies and NGOs were only able to deliver 14,600 tents for 85,000 people, leaving 1.3 million Palestinians without adequate winter shelter. 

Several people, including six children have already died from hypothermia, drowning or cold-related injuries.

“There are no words left to describe what Gaza has become,” the experts said.