Over 867,000 People in Unusable Tents.
More than 2.15 million displaced Palestinians are living in desperate conditions across the Gaza Strip, with more than 867,000 of them sheltering in makeshift tents that are no longer fit for purpose, Gaza’s Government Media Office said Monday, as Israel continues to attack the enclave and restrict the entry of aid in violation of the ceasefire agreement. The office said the scale of displacement, combined with the near-total destruction of housing stock across the Strip, has left the vast majority of Gaza’s population without adequate shelter nearly two years into the war, with worn, sun-damaged, and storm-battered tents offering little real protection from the elements.
A Shelter Crisis Compounded by Blocked Aid
The Government Media Office has repeatedly accused Israel of continuing its policy of restricting and preventing the entry of tents, tarps, and plastic covers, keeping border crossings closed, and reneging on the humanitarian protocol it signed as part of the ceasefire agreement. Officials have described the resulting shelter crisis as among the most dangerous humanitarian disasters of the entire war, warning that displaced families are enduring conditions no society should have to withstand, worsened by seasonal rains, extreme heat, and overcrowding at displacement sites that were never designed for long-term habitation.
The crisis follows a familiar pattern documented throughout the war: earlier reports found that roughly 81% of displaced Gazans’ tents had become unusable after severe storms, with the vast majority worn out and in urgent need of replacement, while UN agencies have separately estimated that the bulk of Gaza’s displaced population is spread across roughly a thousand displacement sites, many in makeshift and overcrowded settings offering little privacy or protection. Israel’s military coordination agency for the territories has repeatedly denied allegations that it is restricting humanitarian supplies, even as local and international aid organizations continue to report severe shortages of shelter materials nearly two years since Gaza’s displacement crisis first began.