Norwegian Report Warns: One Million Displaced in Gaza Face Risk of Death from Heat in Dilapidated Tents

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) has issued strong warnings regarding the deteriorating humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip, confirming that approximately one million displaced people face the scorching summer heat of 2026 inside dilapidated tents and temporary shelters. The report clarified that nearly 170,000 Palestinian families have found themselves forced to live in conditions lacking the most basic protection from weather fluctuations, due to the continued strict restrictions imposed by the occupation on the entry of essential shelter materials.

Jan Egeland, Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council, described the current situation in the Strip as an 'international scandal' that requires immediate action from the international community. Egeland pointed out that the systematic destruction of homes by the occupation authorities, coupled with the prevention of the entry of wood and plastic sheeting, has made displaced families easy prey to heat stress, dehydration, and diseases associated with rising temperatures.

Climate forecasts indicate that temperatures in Gaza will reach 34.5 degrees Celsius during the day, with a significant increase in days exceeding 35 degrees. This record rise threatens the lives of thousands of children and the elderly, especially in the absence of adequate cooling or ventilation within overcrowded shelters that lack privacy and basic services.

In details of the shelter crisis, relief sources revealed that about 5,000 Palestinian families are forced to sleep completely in the open without any roof to protect them, while another 52,000 displaced people are crowded into shelter centers suffering from suffocating overcrowding. The report estimates that 850,000 people completely lack the necessary materials to repair their tents, such as ropes and thin wooden panels that the occupation authorities prevent from entering.

This suffering stems from the massive destruction of infrastructure and the housing sector, with UN data indicating that over 76% of housing units in the Strip have been damaged or destroyed. According to statistics, about 371,888 homes out of 485,361 have become uninhabitable, making a return home impossible for the majority of the Strip's population who live in continuous displacement.

International humanitarian organizations affirmed that the severe suffering experienced by Palestinian families could have been avoided through simple measures including improving ventilation and providing shading materials. However, the occupation forces' insistence on preventing the entry of these relief materials exacerbates health risks and leads to the spread of epidemics among displaced people who already suffer from malnutrition and a lack of safe drinking water.

The Norwegian Refugee Council called on the international community to exert real and effective pressure on the occupation authorities to open crossings and allow the unrestricted flow of shelter materials. The report stressed that saving one million displaced people from the summer heat requires an urgent response that goes beyond mere condemnation, to ensure the provision of a living environment that preserves human dignity and protects them from increasing environmental threats in Gaza.

What is happening in the Gaza Strip is an international scandal, where displaced families are trapped in harsh living conditions unsuitable for coping with high temperatures.