A grandmother and her five-year-old grandson were burnt to death in Gaza when their tent caught fire, as thousands of Palestinians battle harrowing winter conditions in flimsy makeshift housing, as Israel continues to block key aid despite a truce.
Amal Abu Al-Khair and her grandchild, Saud, were killed when their nylon tent caught fire overnight at the Yarmouk displacement camp in Gaza City on Thursday night.
As 2026 begins, the shaky 12-week-old Gaza ceasefire has largely paused Israel’s Gaza genocide.
But Palestinians are still being killed almost daily by Israeli fire, and the humanitarian crisis shows no signs of abating.
Over the past weeks, cold winter rains have repeatedly lashed the sprawling tent cities, causing flooding, turning Gaza’s dirt roads into mud, and causing buildings damaged in Israeli bombardment to collapse.
UNICEF says at least six children have now died of weather-related causes, including a four-year-old who died in a building collapse.
At least three children have died of hypothermia, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
Aid groups say Israel is not allowing enough shelter materials into Gaza despite the truce.
Figures recently released by Israel’s military suggest it hasn’t met the ceasefire stipulation of allowing 600 trucks of aid into Gaza a day.
Deteriorating humanitarian situation
There is also concern that Israel's recent suspension of more than three dozen international aid groups from operating in Gaza will make it even harder to get supplies like tents in.
Palestinians have long called for mobile homes and caravans to be allowed in to protect them against living in impractical and worn-out tents.
In Yarmouk, people live in nylon tents near a garbage dump.
Ashraf al-Suwair said he woke up to the sound of screaming as his neighbours shouted, "Fire! Fire!"
He said the nylon is like fuel, easy to ignite. “We need a good place that suits the people and the children of Gaza, instead of burning to death," he said.
Türkiye and seven other countries called on Israel to lift restrictions on the entry of essential supplies into Gaza.
In a joint statement on Friday, the foreign ministers of Türkiye, Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar expressed deep concern over the worsening humanitarian suffering, warning that adverse weather conditions have compounded existing aid restrictions and critical shortages of life-saving supplies.
