Population displacement and its impact

Displacement figures and living conditions

According to UN data from 2024, about 90% of the Strip’s 2.1 million residents had already been displaced at least once during the war. Many families were displaced multiple times, sometimes 10 times or more, as they escaped Israeli attacks. Displacement was often sudden, sometimes under fire, without proper means of transport and with nowhere safe to go. In most cases, residents were not given enough time to pack essential belongings, which dwindled from one displacement to the next. Today, the overwhelming majority of Gaza’s residents are still displaced, because their homes were destroyed and/or because they are barred from accessing the areas where they lived before the war.

As of March 27, 2026, most IDPs, 1.7 million people, were living in 1,600 displacement sites, in abject poverty and extremely harsh living conditions. More than half of them, about 900,000 people, lack even the most basic and essential emergency shelter items. Without basic services and infrastructure such as sewage, electricity, and safe drinking water, and without even minimal hygiene, residents in most displacement camps suffer from skin diseases and infestations of parasites and rodents. According to assessments by aid agencies, in April 2026, in about 80% of these sites where approximately 1.45 million people live, pests such as ticks, fleas, rats, and mice, are regularly observed. With no access to pest control materials, there is no effective way to address this public health problem, which puts most of the population at risk. Since the start of 2026, more than 70,000 cases of illness or infection caused by rodents and parasites have been reported.

According to UN data from April 2026, only about 51% of kindergarten and school aged children are enrolled in the 585 temporary learning spaces. These are run with support from the UN and humanitarian organizations, amid a major shortage of learning materials and with most teachers working on a volunteer basis.

Impact of extreme weather on the crisis

In the absence of adequate shelter and even minimal housing conditions, extreme weather becomes life threatening. For people living in tents or ruined buildings, who lack basic infrastructure such as sewage and drainage systems, winter conditions are especially harsh. Strong winds and heavy rains turned crowded tent camps into bogs, tens of thousands of tents were flooded or blown away, dozens of partially destroyed buildings collapsed, and tens of thousands of families lost even the precarious, temporary shelter they had. The severe shortage of heating materials, winter clothing, and electricity increased illness, particularly among children and the elderly. In December 2025 and January 2026 alone, 39 residents, including 22 minors, reportedly died from hypothermia or the collapse of unsafe structures due to harsh weather conditions.

In March 2026, the Gaza Strip was hit by a severe sandstorm, causing pollution and serious respiratory problems for people living in tents and exposed structures with no protection from dust and sand particles. The high winds and sand also damaged desalination facilities and hampered the delivery of humanitarian aid.

The restrictions Israel imposes on the entry of essential shelter materials directly contribute to the suffering, illnesses, and deaths resulting from substandard housing that offers no protection from the elements. While tents and plastic sheeting are allowed in, lengthy bureaucratic procedures and limited opening hours at the crossings create delays and shortages that prevent an immediate response to urgent needs. By contrast, the entry of tent poles has been banned. Bans on prefabricated structures, as well as equipment and materials to repair and build homes, prevent any transition to housing solutions that are more suitable than tents.

Further reading:

B’Tselem: After Israel destroyed Gaza’s essential infrastructure, 39 local residents, including 22 minors, lost their lives due to severe weather in December and January, February 23, 2026