OMM Newsroom
Repeated displacement during three years of war in Gaza has left shelters across the enclave increasingly deteriorated, while restrictions and funding shortages are hindering preparations for winter, a senior UN migration official said late Friday, according to Anadolu Agency.
Karl Baker, regional crisis coordinator for the Gaza response at the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said some Palestinians had been displaced as many as eight times. Tents and other temporary shelters have been damaged or destroyed each time families have had to move.
“When they move, all those goods that they currently have or did have either get destroyed, or they have to seek new shelter,” Baker told UN News.
Even basic materials such as tarpaulins need replacing about every six months, but aid agencies have been unable to bring replacements into Gaza at the scale required, he said. Baker said agencies need to move beyond temporary solutions towards more durable transitional shelters.
Materials for stronger roofs, concrete floors and more substantial walls are affected by Israel’s “dual-use” restrictions, which are imposed over security concerns. Baker said IOM remained in constant contact with Israeli authorities, but some durable materials continued to be denied entry.
He also cited funding shortages and disruptions to international shipping as obstacles. IOM relies on suppliers in countries including China, India and Pakistan. Funding has begun to arrive, Baker said, but remains insufficient to meet the needs of an estimated 1.8 million to 1.9 million people requiring shelter assistance.
Only around 30% of Gaza is currently accessible to most of the population, forcing displaced Palestinians into increasingly crowded areas that are often prone to flooding, Baker said. “The 30% in which they currently live is a very large displacement camp,” he said.
With winter rains already beginning, humanitarian organizations are working to address flood-prone areas and deploy water pumps. Baker warned that helping displaced Palestinians get through winter would be the biggest challenge.
Earlier this month, IOM said available and incoming shelter supplies covered only 17% of Gaza’s winter needs, while more than half of tents and makeshift shelters were in poor condition.
A ceasefire has been in effect since Oct. 10, 2025, but Israeli attacks and restrictions on the entry of humanitarian and shelter supplies have continued.
