OCHA: UN Relief Chief stresses need to get more aid into Gaza after recent rains

18 November 2025

The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, said yesterday that Palestinians across Gaza are cold and soaked following recent rains, adding that frustration is growing as floods rise and what little people have is destroyed.

He reiterated that the UN and its partners are mobilizing to help, but much more is needed. Mr. Fletcher said that remaining restrictions must be lifted to urgently get more aid in.

On the ground in Gaza, OCHA stresses that the UN and its partners remain committed to providing life-saving support, including shelter. Humanitarians continue to distribute tents, tarpaulins and other essential items to affected families and assess people’s needs to guide the response.

The UN is fast-tracking funds to bolster those efforts. The Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Dr. Ramiz Alakbarov, has released US$18 million from the occupied Palestinian territory Humanitarian Fund to support critical operations across Gaza as winter approaches and heavy rains begin to compound dire living conditions.

Those funds are already allowing partners to move ahead with more than 30 planned projects covering everything from food and nutrition to water, health, shelter, protection and other essential support.*

Today, Dr. Alakbarov visited a site for displaced people in Gaza city, where some families are staying after last week’s rainstorm destroyed their shelters. He also went to the Rantissi pediatric hospital, which is being rehabilitated to address extensive damage sustained during the war.

At the displacement site, Dr. Alakbarov spoke with families who urgently need basic assistance as winter draws near. He also appealed once again for more crossings, for more routes inside Gaza, and for NGOs to be able to bring in supplies.

Regarding healthcare, partners report that as of Sunday, the number of operational health service points in Gaza rose to 219, compared with fewer than 200 in October. The 22 new service points include 12 primary healthcare centres, six medical points, and four hospitals in the northern governorates.

The catch-up vaccination campaign launched on 9 November is ongoing, with more than 7,000 children under the age of three already vaccinated during the first five days of that effort.

Meanwhile, partners providing food assistance report that on Saturday, more than 1.3 million meals were distributed by more than two dozen partners through 195 kitchens – over 180,000 in northern Gaza and about 1.2 million in Deir al Balah and Khan Younis governorates.

The UN and its partners also continue to provide general food assistance, reaching more than 64,000 households – about 320,000 people – as of Saturday.