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In Gaza, a childhood spent in temporary shelter
A ceasefire’s age says little about the home a child grows up in.
Three years after the Hamas and other armed groups’ attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023 and the war that followed, Gaza approaches the October 2025 ceasefire’s first anniversary. Displaced families still live in precarious shelters with few safe alternatives immediately available.
Watine Hamad is one year old. Her father Ali tells Le Monde by phone that the family lives in a tent beside a landfill. He describes foul smells and illness around her. His daughter is growing up in temporary shelter.[1]
At the UN briefing on 9 October, IOM’s Karl Baker says tents are entering but materials for more durable shelter are still being turned away at crossings. Funding is short too. Replacing worn canvas becomes an endless task if families cannot reach accommodation that will last longer than a season.[2]
How we reached this judgment
What changed
A child grows up beside a landfill; IOM describes obstacles to replacing precarious shelter.
Why it matters
Make leaving danger practically possible.
Where views differ
Displaced families
- What it sees
- Raising children safely.
- What it wants
- Obtain safe housing.
- What it omits
- One telephone account is not representative.
Shelter responders
- What it sees
- Protecting families over time.
- What it wants
- Bring in usable materials.
- What it omits
- The briefing does not track a particular delivery through to use.
The provisional judgment
Evidence strengthens the need for safe shelter without establishing delivery through to use.
Movement: Strengthened
The receipts
The records we consulted and what they establish. Sources can have interests of their own.
- ‘The Trump plan changed nothing’: One year later, Gaza still lives in ruins, under bombsLe Monde · 2026-10-09 · en
A family’s telephone account.
- UN Geneva Press Briefing - 09 October 2026UN Geneva newsroom / IOM briefing · 2026-10-09 · en
IOM describes tent entry and obstacles to more durable shelter.