The International Organization for Migration’s regional crisis co-ordinator, Karl Baker, told the BBC from Gaza that the territory’s 2.1 million population was confined to only 30% of its total area and that many people were “unfortunately living in areas which would not be normal if we were not in this time of conflict”.
He said the UN agency and its partners were trying to make sure there were enough tents and tarpaulins, as well as improved drainage in camps, to help them get through the winter.
However, he warned that aid currently getting into Gaza was not sufficient to meet the demands of the population, describing it as “the very smallest of Band-Aids [plasters]”.
“We need more support, in-kind donations. We need funding in order to help the communities to help themselves,” he said. “We need a lot more to happen.”
UN agencies have called on Israeli authorities to allow in the specialist equipment and materials required to improve living conditions for displaced families.
Cogat, the Israeli military body tasked with co-ordinating deliveries, said on Sunday that more than 91,000 tents, 12 vacuum trucks for waste removal, and fuel and engine oil for pumping facilities have been delivered since the start of the “Gaza Winterization Plan”.
But it added that Israel would not permit the entry of equipment that could be used for military purposes by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups.
An estimated 80% of all structures in Gaza have been destroyed or damaged during the war between Israel and Hamas, according to the UN.
More than 1.9 million people have been displaced, many of them multiple times, and 1.2 million of them are currently living in tents or makeshift shelters, it says.
The UN has warned that the humanitarian situation in Gaza remains dire despite the ceasefire agreed in October 2025, as Israeli air strikes and other attacks continue to hit populated areas, causing casualties and property damage and driving further displacement.
The Gaza war was triggered by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, when about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
Since then, more than 74,640 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the territory’s health ministry, whose figures are considered reliable by the UN.
Additional reporting by Malak Hassouneh
