UNICEF warns of ‘catastrophe’ as heavy rains flood Gaza displacement camps, children left soaked and sick
Severe rains have flooded makeshift encampments across Gaza, creating a “catastrophe” for thousands of displaced families living under tarps and plastic sheeting, UNICEF said, warning that existing supplies are “completely insufficient” to protect children from cold, illness and contaminated water.
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Jonathan Crickx, UNICEF’s spokesperson in Palestine, said the agency has documented widespread flooding and worsening hygiene conditions after days of downpours. “Children who barely have a change of clothes, they are living and sleeping soaked with very, very little,” he said in an interview with RTÉ’s Morning Ireland. He described tents as “extremely simple and fragile,” often just a tarp with plastic laid on the ground to keep out water — measures that have failed under sustained rain and wind.
Crickx, who is currently in Gaza, said many of the children he met showed signs of illness, with sanitation “extremely poor” across crowded encampments. He said UNICEF is “extremely concerned” about the health risks posed by exposure to cold temperatures, wind and rain, as well as the growing threat of waterborne diseases amid standing water and inadequate latrines. He also said he had received reports of two babies dying due to hyperthermia.
UNICEF teams are distributing winter clothing, tarps and other essentials, Crickx said, but those efforts pale against the scale of need. “After two years of relentless war and a very fragile ceasefire, we are facing again a very hard situation for children,” he said. Even with more trucks entering the enclave since the ceasefire began, he added, “There is a strong improvement, yet it is still not sufficient.”
The agency is urging a rapid scale-up of aid deliveries and broader access to the strip. “We are calling for all supplies to be allowed in at an increased pace,” Crickx said. He called for all entry points into Gaza to be “open and accessible for supplies,” and for humanitarian personnel to be able to enter and exit to support relief operations.
UNICEF’s warning underscores how quickly winter weather has turned precarious living arrangements into a public health emergency. Families sheltering in fields, roadways and cleared rubble have little protection from flooding, and many lack dry clothing or blankets. Aid groups say overwhelmed sanitation systems and makeshift latrines cannot handle the runoff, raising fears of outbreaks of diarrheal and other waterborne diseases among children, who are particularly vulnerable.
While agencies have stepped up deliveries of tarpaulins, plastic sheeting, bedding and hygiene kits, relief workers say the backlog of need remains immense, with shelter materials quickly deteriorating under repeated storms. Fuel and logistics constraints, and limited warehousing space inside Gaza, have further slowed distribution.
Crickx said stabilizing conditions and moving quickly into reconstruction are essential. “People cannot indefinitely live in tents in such dire conditions,” he said, calling the current situation unsustainable and urging sustained humanitarian access alongside a longer-term plan to rebuild basic services and housing.
As rains continue, UNICEF’s appeal is blunt: more supplies, faster clearances and guaranteed humanitarian corridors to prevent further loss of life among Gaza’s most vulnerable. “It is a race against the weather and against time,” Crickx said, “and children are paying the price.”
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
