Gaza families struggle to keep children warm in winter
Flooded tents and high prices are leaving families in Gaza struggling to keep their children warm as winter approaches, according to Al Jazeera, which published its report on 12 November 2026. The report follows several families living in makeshift shelters, many of them displaced, with little protection from the cold and rain.
The most serious case in the report is that of Kinan Ahmed Raqiq, a nine-month-old who died of hypothermia, a dangerous drop in body temperature. His father told AFP that he woke to find his son's skin had turned blue.
Amira Saad, 27, is sheltering with 18 family members, nine of them children, under a tarp in a makeshift camp west of Gaza City. She was displaced from Shujayea. Heavy rain flooded the shelter, soaking blankets, mattresses and pillows. Her four-month-old baby, Mohammed, has only thin summer clothes and a borrowed warm garment.
Basima Saad, 60, cares for her 23-year-old daughter, who has a disability and needs warm clothes and medication.
Amal al-Maydana, 46, is the mother of seven from Gaza City's Zeitoun neighbourhood. She has been displaced six times and has lost her family's home, land and car. Her husband, Hamza, was killed by an Israeli quadcopter, a small drone with four rotors, in January 2025. Her eldest son, Haitham, 25, was killed by a sniper in November of the same year. Her younger daughters, Rimas and Malak, were still wearing summer clothes as winter arrived.
