Khaberni - The governmental operations room for emergency interventions in the southern provinces of Palestine, in partnership with the Ministry of Public Works and Housing, launched a campaign entitled "Shelter is a Right for Gaza", amidst worsening suffering of hundreds of thousands of displaced people living in tents ill-equipped to provide protection from the cold and rain, with the aim of urging the international community to pressure the Israeli occupation to allow the immediate entry of prefabricated housing units as an emergency humanitarian solution.
The operations room and the Ministry of Public Works and Housing confirmed that the recent weather depressions clearly revealed the failure of tents to provide the necessary protection for the displaced, where thousands of tents were flooded and uprooted due to heavy rain and strong winds, exposing children and the elderly to direct risks in the absence of safe heating.
It was clarified that more than 53,000 tents for displaced people were damaged during the last depressions in various areas of the Gaza Strip, which exacerbated the suffering of displaced families and expanded the scope of emergency humanitarian needs.
According to documented medical and field reports, a number of children, including infants, died in the Gaza Strip as a direct result of severe cold exposure while staying in tents lacking the minimum standards of protection, in a severe violation of the right to safe shelter.
The launch of the campaign comes amidst alarming humanitarian figures, as the number of displaced people in the Gaza Strip reaches about two million, including approximately one million children, most of whom live in harsh conditions in inadequate tents. Data indicates that the number of people with disabilities in Gaza before the aggression was about 55,000 people, while a report issued by the World Health Organization in September 2025 estimated that about 42,000 people suffered severe life-altering injuries requiring long-term rehabilitation, raising the number of people with disabilities and those affected by serious injuries to about 97,000 people, many of whom currently live in tents lacking basic safety standards and do not accommodate the needs of the disabled, compounding their suffering and depriving them of living with dignity.
The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics data also indicates that there are about 60,000 pregnant women in the Gaza Strip, most of whom suffer from a severe shortage of shelter, living in inadequate tents that do not provide protection from the cold nor the necessary privacy, which doubles the health and humanitarian risks on them under harsh living conditions.
According to the Ministry of Public Works and Housing, the Israeli aggression caused widespread destruction in the housing sector in Gaza, where about 90% of the civil infrastructure was destroyed, and more than 355,000 residential units were damaged to varying degrees, of which about 295,000 units were completely destroyed or unfit for habitation, leading to an exacerbation of displacement and a housing crisis.
The operations room confirmed that humanitarian institutions and competent authorities are unable to fully respond to the urgent needs of the displaced, given the lack of shelter essentials and a severe shortage of fuel, which hinders the operation of heavy machinery necessary for clearing roads, removing debris, and draining rainwater, while the Israeli occupation continues to prevent the entry of prefabricated housing units to Gaza, allowing only very small quantities of tents, further increasing the vulnerability of the displaced and posing significant risks to their lives.
The Ministry of Public Works and Housing explained that prefabricated housing units represent the most appropriate option for temporary shelter in light of the prolonged reconstruction period and ongoing harsh weather conditions, noting that the Gaza Strip needs to establish 200,000 prefabricated housing units as an emergency humanitarian solution, yet the refusal of the occupation to allow these units has forced humanitarian agencies to rely on tents as a temporary and unsafe solution, asserting that these units are a necessary humanitarian solution at this extraordinary stage until the start of the reconstruction process.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), tents are only suitable for an emergency response in the initial stages but are unsuitable for shelter in the winter season due to their inability to withstand rain and wind and difficulties in heating inside them.
The operations room confirmed that the "Shelter is a Right for Gaza" campaign aims to create genuine media and political pressure to affirm that safe shelter is an urgent human right that cannot be postponed, and that continuing to prevent the entry of prefabricated housing units endangers the lives of hundreds of thousands, particularly children and the elderly.
The "Shelter is a Right for Gaza" campaign appeals to the United Nations, international institutions, and contracting states of the Geneva Conventions to assume their legal and humanitarian responsibilities, and to act immediately to pressure the Israeli occupation to allow the entry of prefabricated housing units, as they represent the emergency humanitarian solution capable of providing safe shelter that protects lives and preserves human dignity under harsh climate conditions and the ongoing displacement crisis.
