There is nothing to be called at home: a Palestinian mother’s strength in the winter of Gaza

Maha looks at her son, understanding that he would not love the tent and how can he love her? He was staying in a house with walls, ceiling and a safe place in which he put his games. Now, he only sees a fragile shelter that barely protects it from the cold.

“Why don’t you put a linoleum on the ceiling?” He asked in a faint and curious voice. Only in Gaza, children of this age know how to build shelter, they grew up surrounded by destruction and many of them saw their homes collapsing in front of their eyes.

Maha was displaced from northern Gaza after she was injured. And because she left late, she has seen atrocities that no one should see at all.

“When we were in the north, we saw bodies … the dead were devoured by dogs and stray cats.” I said it in a sorrow with sadness.

Now, she feels that she is besieged in an endless circle of suffering, unable to alleviate the suffering of her children or protect them from the severe cold, especially in the winter. Rain water leaks through the thin fabric of their tent, adding new suffering to an indefinite reality.

Like Maha, thousands of families in Gaza face winter in temporary shelters, struggling to stay warm and safe. They live the cruelty of displacement, in search of safety in shelters that only provide minimal protection from weather factors.

With the support of humanitarian aid, which includes shelter and basic supplies, they adhere to hope day by day.

Maha’s displacement was a real nightmare, as she resorted to a school for safety, but the school was bombed. Maha lost everything she possesses and was forced to separate from her husband at one of the checkpoints, and his fate is still unknown.

She found herself lonely responsible for caring for her children, without shelter, without clothes, and without any sense of safety. She says with sorrow: “I turn in a vicious circle, unable to provide even the basic needs of my children..

The winter increased the difficulty of the situation, the rains turned the ground into a solution, penetrated through the delicate covers and walked the remaining few of their property. Maha says: “When it rains, the chaos is the place. Even a little rain turns the place into a pool of water“.

Through human support, Maha recently got a tent, which was a turning point in her struggle for survival. She says: “The tent is a blessing. At least I have a place to house my children. Before we got it, we used to live in the streets“.

Besides the tents, Maha got brushes and blankets. She says: “The tent is water -resistant, and the tarpaulin is integrated with it, and this is a big difference“,,” Of course, “The doors of the tent are closed to keep stray animals outHowever, the needs are enormous.

According to the Humanitarian Coordination Office, there are more than 1.9 million displaced people in Gaza. Shelter is still one of the most urgent needs for Palestinian families. As is the case of Maha, thousands of families in Gaza face winter in temporary shelters and fight for warmth and safety.

The International Organization for Migration Organization provides an emergency shelter and basic supplies with vital support for those displaced people who live unimaginable conditions.

The organization provides an emergency shelter and vital supplies, providing vital assistance to displaced families in light of the ongoing crisis. Since October 2023, the organization has handed over more than 1.5 materials – shelter, water, sanitation and health hygiene, and other basic supplies – using its wide global logistical network.

Once the aid arrives, it is distributed to the needy through the field partners. The supplies are secured through various channels, including bilateral partnerships, in -kind donations, and the general supply program of the International Organization for Migration.

The organization launched the public supply program in March 2024, which aims to provide high -quality emergency aid to accredited local partners. The program enables them to focus their resources on evaluation and distribution operations within the community. The public supply program guarantees a more rapid and efficient aid by facilitating purchases and supply chain.

Since the shooting of the ceasefire on January 19 to the last aid ban that returned on March 1, the International Organization for Migration has handed over more than 479,000 relief materials to its partners in Gaza.

She focused on her assistance on tents and sunny fabrics to meet the massive shelter needs, as people took advantage of the decline in hostilities to return to their destroyed homes. During the winter season, the organization focused on providing winter aid to help families stay in warm and dry conditions amid harsh and cold weather conditions.

The resumption of the war is accompanied by the decision to stop aid to Gaza, exposing the lives of more than two million Palestinians to the danger of a devastating conflict for nearly a year and a half.

The International Organization for Migration includes its voice to the voice of its partners in the call to restore the ceasefire and its sustainability and to ensure the arrival of vital humanitarian aid without interruption.

Maha says: “I hope things will return to normal. I dream of ending this war so that we can return to our house in the north“.

The article link on the website of the International Organization for Migration.