Attachments
Cluster Objective 1
Vulnerable populations are provided with priority emergency shelter and NFI assistance to reduce exposure to climatic extremes and meet basic needs.
Introduction
The Shelter Cluster’s immediate priority is to improve shelter conditions to protect against further loss of life due to exposure, and to limit the spread of diseases caused by overcrowding. This first objective of the strategy is achieved through the provision of shelter and essential household items to meet the basic needs of Internally Displaced People (IDPs) sheltering either in collective centres (such as schools and public buildings), sharing accommodation with host families, returning to damaged dwellings or living in makeshift shelter or tents at self-settled sites or at open air. Shelter partners are prioritizing winterization assistance with the upcoming winter and the vastly deficient materials to protect against the elements, with a particular focus on children and vulnerable adults1. This assistance is crucial to ensure the survival and dignity of those in need during winter, especially considering the exposed conditions along the Gaza coastline.
Essential household items are critical to meet basic daily needs including winter clothing, bedding, and kitchen items. However, the ongoing access restrictions, particularly into southern Gaza, hinder the movement of goods. This is compounded by little to no transfer of goods between the north and south of Gaza. There is negligible entry of goods into the south. September saw the lowest volume of commercial and humanitarian supplies entering Gaza since March 2024.2 Currently, humanitarian operations are failing to provide a meaningful response in the south, where the majority of Gaza's population resides in an increasingly shrinking and dense "humanitarian zone”. The shape of this zone keeps shifting due to multiple evacuation orders.
Given the access and logistical constraints, and the resulting massive shortage of shelter materials and NFIs, targeting and distributions are increasingly difficult. Shelter Cluster and partners keep track of the availability of shelter materials and NFIs including winterization items and monitor for changes in the restrictions to bring any of these items into Gaza. Shelter Cluster is developing a harmonized targeting criteria for shelter materials and NFIs. The contents of emergency assistance packages can be found HERE. Contents will likely be reviewed as different items are allowed to enter Gaza.
Shelter Cluster also prioritizes the emergency shelter response needs to provide protection from weather elements, address the lack of privacy, and lack of infrastructure and services in collective centres. Shelter Cluster will coordinate with OCHA, UNRWA, Site Management Working Group and others on support for decongestion of critical collective centres through provision of emergency shelter materials, as alternative sheltering options are identified.
Makeshift shelters, (especially in the southern governorates), have been set up in dense and congested areas from salvaged materials inadequate to withstand the weather conditions, often with weak framing and inadequate cladding, due to lack of shelter materials in the Gaza Strip. Emergency shelter materials in the form of sealing-off kits (SOKs) and emergency shelter kits (ESKs) are urgently required to reinforce the stability of makeshift shelters, to consolidate or extend covered living space as well as seal off damaged properties.
An important consideration for all emergency shelter options is that ongoing hostilities, repeated displacement, and extreme weather conditions often cause damage to properties and shelters. Items like tents or other shelter materials, typically provided once, will likely need to be replaced after six months due to wear and water ingress. Likewise, it is important to note that agencies might need to provide two units of assistance (e.g., two tents or ESKs) to accommodate large / merged households and reduce overcrowding, aiming to achieve living space as per Sphere standards3.