‘Her hands are as cold as ice’: Gaza families struggle to keep warm

What the report says

Gaza families living in tents and other makeshift shelters are facing a worsening struggle to keep children warm as winter weather sets in, according to Al Jazeera’s report from Gaza City on 12 November 2026. The article describes flooded shelters, damaged tarpaulins and severe shortages of blankets, winter clothes and heating supplies, with many displaced people relying on community kitchens and second-hand clothing because they have little or no income.

The report focuses on several families in Gaza City and nearby displacement camps, including Amira Saad, who is caring for 18 relatives, among them nine children, under a tarp after being displaced from Shujayea. Her four-month-old son has only summer clothing, and recent rain soaked the family’s bedding. Another woman, Amal al-Maydana, who has lost her husband, eldest son and home during the war, said her children still lacked proper winter clothes and that the family had no heating equipment.

Al Jazeera says the broader humanitarian picture is dire. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says most of Gaza’s population needs shelter assistance, while UNICEF has warned that young children face hypothermia and respiratory illness in winter conditions. Aid agencies have struggled to obtain enough winter supplies, and funding shortages are slowing their response.

The article also links the crisis to the wider destruction and economic collapse in Gaza, where repeated displacement, unemployment and restricted supplies have pushed prices beyond what many families can afford. Local shopkeepers say customers frequently ask about winter clothing but cannot pay for it.