A grandmother and her five-year-old grandson have burned to death after their makeshift tent caught fire in Gaza, highlighting the desperate and perilous living conditions faced by displaced Palestinians as a severe humanitarian crisis continues.
Deadly Fire Exposes Dire Living Conditions
The tragic incident occurred on Thursday night in the Yarmouk area of Gaza. According to a neighbour, the family's nylon tent ignited during cooking. Ashraf al-Suwair described being woken by screams of "fire! fire!" and noted that the tent material acted like fuel, catching alight easily. "We need a good place that suits the people and the children of Gaza, instead of burning to death," he said.
This fatal fire comes as thousands of Palestinians endure harrowing winter conditions in flimsy shelters. Recent weeks have seen cold rains repeatedly lash sprawling tent cities, causing flooding, turning roads to mud, and triggering the collapse of buildings already damaged by Israeli bombardment.
A Failing Truce and Mounting Casualties
While the shaky 12-week-old ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which began in late 2025, has largely halted large-scale Israeli bombardment, violence and deprivation persist. Palestinians are still being killed almost daily by Israeli fire, and the humanitarian situation shows no sign of abating.
According to Gaza's Health Ministry, at least 414 people have been killed and 1,142 wounded since the ceasefire began. The overall Palestinian death toll from the war that started on 7 October 2023 now stands at a minimum of 71,266. The ministry's counts, viewed as generally reliable internationally, do not distinguish between militants and civilians.
The winter has proven particularly deadly for children. UNICEF reports at least six children have now died of weather-related causes, including a four-year-old killed in a building collapse. Gaza's Health Ministry states at least three children have died from hypothermia.
Aid Shortages and International Concern
Aid groups warn that insufficient shelter materials and supplies are reaching Gaza during the truce. Figures from Israel's military suggest it has not met the ceasefire stipulation of allowing 600 aid trucks into Gaza daily, though Israel disputes this finding. There is further concern that Israel's recent suspension of over three dozen international aid groups from operating in Gaza will severely hamper the delivery of essential items like tents.
Palestinians have repeatedly called for mobile homes and caravans to be allowed in to replace impractical and worn-out tents. In Yarmouk, people are living in nylon shelters near a garbage dump.
On Friday, foreign ministers from Arab and Muslim nations, including Egypt, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, issued a joint statement expressing deep concern. They said the crisis was "compounded by the continued lack of sufficient humanitarian access, acute shortages of essential life-saving supplies, and the slow pace of the entry of essential materials."
West Bank Violence Continues
Meanwhile, Israel continues operations in the occupied West Bank. On Friday, the Palestinian Prisoners media office reported wide-scale raids across territories including Ramallah and Hebron, leading to nearly 50 detentions. Israel's military said it arrested people "involved in terrorist activity." This follows the arrest of at least 50 other Palestinians on Thursday.
The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society states that Israel has arrested 7,000 Palestinians in the West Bank and Jerusalem in 2026 alone, and 21,000 since the war began. Violence in the West Bank has surged during the Gaza conflict, with Israeli military operations killing hundreds of Palestinians and displacing tens of thousands, alongside a rise in settler violence and Palestinian attacks.
The war was triggered by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, which killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage.
