Save the Children warned that more than half a million children in Gaza are entering their fourth winter in dismantled tents and makeshift shelters, many burning trash to stay warm as Israeli restrictions block the entry of winter materials.

A Palestinian child has died from exposure to the cold in the Gaza Strip, bringing to 13 the number of children reported to have died from extreme cold since last winter, as Israel continues to block the entry of humanitarian aid and new tents, according to medical sources and humanitarian organizations.

The death of Kinan Ahmed Raqiq was confirmed by Nasser Hospital. According to medical sources, the child died inside his displaced family’s tent in al-Mawasi, in Khan Younis. His death came shortly after an Israeli airstrike on Nasser Hospital, in southern Gaza, killed six Palestinians and wounded more than 20, including patients and medical staff.

RELATED: UN Says Israel is Blocking 150,000 Winter Tents for Gaza

Across the enclave, infrastructure devastated by months of massive bombardment has left thousands of families unable to return to their homes. They continue to face a shortage of adequate shelter, blankets, heating equipment and other basic necessities, while living in makeshift tents. Israel, meanwhile, continues to violate the ceasefire through attacks, killings and restrictions on the entry of humanitarian assistance, including trucks waiting with thousands of new tents that are urgently needed as winter storms arrive.

The alert arrives as winter rains and cold begin to close in on the coastal enclave, where nearly the entire population has been uprooted. Around 1.9 million people, close to 90% of Gaza’s residents, have lost their homes since the war erupted in October 2023. Children make up roughly 40% of the territory’s population, and they have shouldered much of the suffering.

The scale of exposure is staggering. More than half a million children now brace for another season without adequate protection, their fourth consecutive winter since the fighting began. Many are packed into torn tents and improvised shelters that offer almost no barrier against rain and wind.

Recent heavy rains in Gaza directly affected more than 106,000 people, damaging or destroying shelters, latrines, and belongings.

Three children aged four, five and eight were killed along with their mother over the weekend when a sand dune collapsed onto their tent in Deir… pic.twitter.com/SrpMc7V0vo

— UNICEF (@UNICEF) November 10, 2026

A powerful low-pressure system brought heavy rain and strong winds to Gaza over the weekend, flooding camps for displaced people and leaving thousands of families struggling to protect themselves from the cold and rain.

Gaza’s Civil Defense reported receiving at least 1,500 emergency calls from displaced residents asking for help amid the flooding. The Government Media Office in Gaza said more than 70,000 tents housing displaced Palestinians were flooded in the first 12 hours of rain, leaving families without a dry place to stay and damaging belongings that were already worn down.

Aid Blocked at Border

The blockade is not a recent development**. Israel has maintained tight controls over what enters Gaza since 2007 and tightened them sharply after the war began.** Aid agencies say the flow of tents, fuel, and winter clothing has stayed far below what is required.

Restrictions have throttled deliveries of the very supplies that would shield families from the season. Save the Children pointed to the blocked entry of materials meant to protect against cold and flooding, leaving shelters exposed as conditions worsen.

A ceasefire that took effect in October 2025 was meant to allow up to 600 aid trucks into Gaza each day. UN tracking data has shown far fewer convoys reaching their destinations, and winter supplies remain scarce.

The toll on children has been catastrophic. A UN Commission of Inquiry reported in June 2026 that around 20,000 children have been killed in Gaza since October 7, 2023. Many survivors have been displaced repeatedly, in some cases more than ten times.

Beyond the cold, the broader crisis has pushed the strip toward collapse. Famine conditions have been confirmed in parts of Gaza, and the health system has largely broken down, leaving children vulnerable to illness and malnutrition. In the first weeks of the Israeli raid, the UN secretary general declared that Gaza had become a graveyard for children. UNICEF has since described the situation of Gaza’s children as the most horrific ever seen.

Heavy rains flood thousands of tents housing displaced Palestinian families in Gaza, leaving children exposed to cold and worsening the humanitarian crisis

📹 IraninJapan/X pic.twitter.com/4RjhthLRIE

— Rising Kashmir (@RisingKashmir) November 10, 2026

Cold and damp conditions now threaten to deepen that emergency. Respiratory illness spreads quickly among people living outdoors with weakened immune systems, and flooded shelters breed waterborne disease. Doctors have warned for months that such conditions would deepen the public health emergency.

With no end to the restrictions in sight, aid groups warn that the coming months will test a population already pushed to its limits. The fourth winter, they say, may prove the harshest yet.

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