The push for more caravans to house homeless Gazans is exposing a central dilemma: how to meet urgent humanitarian needs without locking displacement in place.
Nearly one million people − about half of Gaza's population − are currently displaced, many surviving winter storms in flimsy tents that are easily torn apart by strong winds and routinely flood. Demand for sturdier shelters by families has surged as conditions worsen.
But international non-governmental organisations warn that expanding caravan use comes with long-term consequences. What begins as an emergency fix risks becoming permanent housing, slowing reconstruction and normalising displacement, rather than resolving it.
Currently, many Gazans are having to endure squalid conditions in tents. At least four people have died − three of them children − due to hypothermia, local authorities have said. Images and videos shared with The National showed waterlogging, with mattresses, blankets and clothing soaked in contaminated water.
Concerns of waterborne diseases have also been raised as Israel continues to block heavy machinery from entering the strip to help with rubble an
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