While we celebrate Christmas in the UK, this is the harsh reality of life for children in Gaza

As many people across the UK are enjoying the festive season, thousands of children in Gaza are facing winter without shelter, warmth or safety. 

The horrors of the past two years in Gaza are far from over. Last week, a two-week-old baby reportedly died from hypothermia in Gaza and since the pause in hostilities in early October 2025 more than 70 children have been killed in Gaza according to UNICEF.

Heavy rain has already flooded homes and communities with more predicted to follow. Children are sleeping on bare, sewage-soaked ground in flimsy clothes, with severe shortages of blankets, mattresses, and warm clothing.

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With 81% of buildings damaged, most people are still sheltering in whatever is left of tents used over the past two years. With the sanitation systems decimated, rainwater no longer drains properly and is now mixed with sewage that has flooded people’s tents, soaking mattresses, clothes and even bags of food. 

Our colleagues in Gaza have recalled witnessing people waking up in tents and finding themselves submerged in sewage water. One colleague told me that she saw a woman with a six-month-old baby, carrying her running around screaming “Where shall I go?”  

The risk of disease is soaring, with malnutrition weakening immune systems, and the winter weather continuing to pose a deadly threat. New figures now show that four out of five children in Gaza will enter the new year still facing crisis levels of hunger, and the World Food Programme is reporting that 25% of households eat only one meal per day.

At the start of December, the rain led to a leak in the roof of our Save the Children health clinic, causing damage to some of the tents. But our colleagues in Gaza refused to turn people away and continued to work in the dry area of the shelter. Our teams are working to reinforce the tents where we provide essential services like child protection, education and nutrition, but without shelter items entering Gaza this is very challenging.

People cannot repair their homes without tools or timber which the Israeli authorities are continuing block from entering the Strip. Children and families cannot receive adequate food or medical assistance without the necessary supplies.

Since the announcement of the first phase of the peace plan two months ago, some tents and tarpaulins have entered Gaza, but no timber or tools have entered due to restrictions from the Israeli authorities. Without tools and equipment, people are unable to start repairs to homes and many are scared to move due to unexploded ordinance, already causing child casualties, or the fear of further airstrikes. 

Despite commitments to ‘flows of aid’, blankets and mattresses are almost nowhere to be seen. New clothes are also practically impossible to come by, with children still wearing summer clothes or shorts and T-shirts, and most of them barefoot. With families desperate for the basics to survive, they spend what little they have on food rather than new clothes. 

Save the Children are working with partners to facilitate the delivery of female hygiene kits and breastfeeding kits alongside much needed cash assistance so people can buy what they need in the market. We are also currently distributing locally procured winter household items and shelter kits, including mattresses, sheets and covers, pillows, pillowcases, blankets, mats, tarpaulins, and other winter items, as well as over 2,000 kits of winter clothing for children.  

But with so much stuck at the border, we need the immediate and urgent opening of all border crossings and the safe passage of aid within the strip. Global attention has shifted, but this winter the needs remain high. Children should be focusing on getting back to school and playing with their friends not how to keep dry from the storms. We must not forget the children of Gaza during this festive period.

Alison Griffin is head of conflict and humanitarian at Save the Children UK.

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