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Families in Gaza are preparing for a fourth winter as conditions in tents and temporary shelters continue to deteriorate. According to UN News, humanitarian aid is still entering in limited quantities, while United Nations operations face transportation obstacles, funding shortages, and security incidents that threaten aid workers.
Deteriorating tents and flood risks
Many families in Gaza are living in tents and shelters that provide little protection from cold temperatures, wind, and rain. An assessment of shelter conditions found that about 950,000 people are staying at displacement sites facing moderate to high flood risks.
Supplies to help residents cope with these conditions are also considered insufficient. This makes the arrival of winter an additional threat to families who have endured prolonged displacement and depend on humanitarian assistance.
Aid operations face obstacles
UN News reported that aid transport was halted on Tuesday after Israel closed the main Kerem Shalom crossing for election day. The closure added to the challenges facing UN aid operations, which had already been constrained by various restrictions and funding shortages.
Nevertheless, the UN and its partners continue to bring limited supplies into Gaza. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA, UN teams brought in food, blankets, winter clothing, school supplies, and fuel on Monday.
Over the past week, partners also distributed school bags to more than 8,000 children. A week earlier, stationery was provided to about 22,000 boys and girls. Around 300 classrooms were also equipped to support learning activities for approximately 60,000 children.
Safety of humanitarian workers
The UN Office for Project Services, UNOPS, recorded three incidents affecting its convoys and facilities on three consecutive days over the past week. UNOPS Executive Director Jorge Moreira da Silva said the incidents included a nearby explosion, the detention of drivers at a checkpoint, and several small-arms rounds striking one of the agency's guesthouses.
Moreira da Silva said the safety of UNOPS staff had been compromised too often. He stressed that all parties to the fighting in Gaza are required to fulfill their obligations to protect civilians and humanitarian personnel.
Pressure on the media and the situation in the West Bank
UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, speaking virtually about her latest report focusing on the media, said that nearly 300 journalists and media workers had been killed in Gaza, according to UN sources. More than 100 people were reported to have been detained, many of whom experienced torture. She also said that about 150 media centers and offices, or 80 percent of Gaza's media infrastructure, had been destroyed.
Albanese criticized Israel's ban on foreign journalists entering Gaza. However, her report also documented intimidation and repression of Palestinian journalists by Hamas in Gaza and by the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.
At the same time, UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed deep concern over escalating violence in the West Bank as Israeli operations in Hebron continued. OCHA recorded that from January 2025 through the end of September 2026, 331 Palestinians, including 77 children, and 21 Israelis were killed in the West Bank. More than 42,000 Palestinians were displaced, while 3,684 attacks by Israeli settlers resulted in casualties or property damage.
