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

As temperatures drop across the Gaza Strip, displaced families are struggling to find warmth, with many asking why their hands cold during the night despite their best efforts to survive. In a makeshift shelter west of Gaza City, 27-year-old Amira Saad faces the constant challenge of keeping her four-month-old infant warm. With no access to winter clothing, the family relies on borrowed garments and thin summer attire that offers little protection against the elements.

Living under a tarp with 18 family members, including nine children, the Saad family is one of many displaced from their homes in Shujayea. Recent heavy rains have exacerbated their suffering, flooding their living space and soaking their limited bedding. Amira’s mother-in-law, 60-year-old Basima Saad, struggles to care for her 23-year-old daughter who has a disability. She describes the physical toll of the cold, noting that her daughter’s hands become as cold as ice, forcing her to share her own body heat to provide comfort.

Thousands of displaced families in Gaza face a life-threatening winter without adequate shelter or warm clothing.

The growing humanitarian crisis

The danger is not merely hypothetical. On Thursday, a nine-month-old baby, Kinan Ahmed Raqiq, died of hypothermia after his father discovered his skin had turned blue in their tent. This tragedy has deepened the fears of mothers like Amal al-Maydana, who is raising seven children alone after losing her husband and eldest son to the conflict. Displaced six times, Amal now lives in a tent where rain seeps through damaged tarpaulins, leaving her children vulnerable to the biting cold.

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 94 percent of the population in Gaza requires urgent shelter assistance. Approximately 65 percent of households are currently living in tents or makeshift structures, and 650,000 children are in need of winter aid. Despite these needs, funding shortages have severely limited the distribution of blankets and warm clothing, with aid agencies reaching only a fraction of the affected population by September.

UNICEF has warned that the current conditions significantly increase the risk of respiratory infections and hypothermia for children. With nearly one million displaced Palestinians living in flood-prone areas, the agency is seeking $97.5 million for its 2026-2027 winter response to support hundreds of thousands of children across Gaza and the West Bank.

Why it matters

The lack of adequate winter infrastructure has left hundreds of thousands of people, particularly children, exposed to life-threatening cold and disease. This crisis highlights the urgent need for humanitarian aid to prevent further deaths from hypothermia as the region faces ongoing displacement and severe funding gaps.