For several months, countless families have found themselves without shelter, sleeping under the vast expanse of the sky—where the stars provide both comfort and a stark reminder of their losses. Sabah, along with her husband Ahmad and their seven children, endured weeks of exposure after their home was destroyed. “We escaped from Shuja’iya to Rimal, then to the south—Rafah, Deir al-Balah, Nuseirat—and eventually returned to Shuja’iya,” Ahmad recounts. “With each move, we lose more of what little we possess.”
Sabah now rests in a temporary shelter after spending weeks without a secure place to sleep.
Ahmad is afflicted with heart disease and lacks access to necessary medications. One of their children suffered a head injury resulting in memory loss, another fell from a fifth-floor building during an airstrike, and a third child succumbed to hepatitis. “She died because I couldn’t provide her with the medicine she required,” Sabah shares. “I didn’t even have food—nothing but a pinch of salt.” Before the ceasefire, the struggle for survival was relentless, with families often going days without nourishment or clean water. “The hardest thing for a father,” Ahmad expresses, “is to see your children thirsty, knowing you have water but can’t let them drink it because it needs to last for days.” Now, the ceasefire has opened a fragile window of opportunity, accompanied by the responsibility to take action.
IOM and its partners are actively working to provide emergency shelter assistance, enabling families to face the impending winter with greater safety and dignity.
Since the ceasefire was established, families have continued to traverse Gaza in search of secure accommodations, frequently discovering their homes reduced to rubble. The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has reported that 639,000 individuals have moved from the south to Gaza City, with many pushing further north towards Jabalya and Beit Hanun. A significant number are still residing in tented or collective displacement sites, often in open areas that provide no shelter or in damaged buildings offering minimal safety. Over the past two months, IOM has distributed more than 660,000 hygiene and shelter supplies through its Common Pipeline Programme, including over 11,000 tents—essential provisions aimed at restoring dignity and ensuring protection for families like Sabah’s, who have faced extended periods of insecurity.
IOM’s warehouses are stocked, trucks are poised for action, and aid is prepared for distribution; the only remaining step is for the crossings to be opened to allow assistance to reach those in dire need. As winter draws near, the urgency intensifies as families lack sufficient shelter materials. “Families urgently require tents, blankets, and warm clothing. The cold is coming. Without proper shelter and warmth, their suffering will increase,” emphasizes Mohammad Najjar, Programme Manager at the Beit Lahia Development Association (BLDA), an IOM Common Pipeline partner based in Gaza. Last winter, more than a dozen individuals, including infants, perished from hypothermia. This year, such tragedies can be avoided if families receive adequate support and preparation before the harsh weather arrives.
BLDA teams are preparing tents for displaced families throughout Gaza, providing vital support to those in search of safety.
“The long journey towards recovery is already being initiated by Palestinian humanitarian workers, with assistance from the international community,” Najjar adds. “However, achieving safety and dignity for the people of Gaza will require peace, determination, and a collective effort.” Tonight, many families will again sleep under an open sky. While the ceasefire has provided a temporary reprieve, winter is on the horizon, and the needs are escalating rapidly.
