While a fragile ceasefire remains in place, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are living in makeshift tents after two years of Israeli strikes.

Khaled Abu Jazar, 53, reinforces his tent after it was damaged by stormy weather at a camp in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on Friday.Abdel Kareem Hana / AP

The Abu Asi family huddled together inside their small tent in southern Gaza`s Khan Younis, adjusting their blankets and looking for a comfortable place to sleep as winds tore through the city and heavy rain fell.

The family of seven had placed plastic containers to catch the falling rain, but the downpour came Friday night while the children were asleep, making its way inside and soaking their clothes and beds.

As the middle of winter arrives for the enclave`s 2 million residents, such makeshift shelters are struggling to keep the weather at bay while humanitarian groups say aid remains insufficient, with tents ripped apart or blown away, leaving Palestinians exposed.

"Our tent does not protect anything, neither our bedding nor our children," their mother, Nida`a Abu Asi, told NBC News as her husband stood barefoot in the cold, trying to remove the water from inside the tent. "We were completely flooded."

Gaza`s Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Basal said Saturday that storms in recent days had caused "significant damage, particularly to tents erected on the beach."

"Thousands of tents belonging to displaced people in the Gaza Strip were damaged or destroyed by the current storm, which brought heavy rain and strong winds," he added.

He said that "recurring storms are turning into humanitarian disasters," citing "Israel`s prevention of the entry of building materials and its obstruction of reconstruction efforts, leaving residents in unsafe tents."

Israel has long upheld a ban on construction supplies entering Gaza.

Palestinians inspect damaged tents at a displacement camp following an Israeli strike in Gaza City on Friday.Jehad Alshrafi / AP

While a fragile ceasefire remains in place, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are living in makeshift tents after two years of Israeli strikes destroyed key infrastructure, leaving hundreds of thousands of people crowded into areas with almost no toilets, drainage or sanitation.

Two-month-old Muhammad Wissam Abu Harbid died Saturday due to the extreme cold, Palestinian health officials said, bringing the total number of infant deaths from the cold since the beginning of winter to four.

"Too many people in Gaza are still barely surviving," the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) posted on X Sunday, saying aid was still being restricted.

"Displaced families are exhausted, hungry, and cold," it said.

Stéphane Dujarric, a spokesperson for the U.N. secretary-general, told journalists in New York on Thursday that scaling up efforts remained a "critical priority," with the entry of essential supplies still being denied.

"These are people trying to survive winter in extremely fragile conditions," he said.

Palestinians are spending their third winter displaced, said Sam Rose, acting director of Gaza affairs at UNRWA, adding that insufficient items for shelter had entered the enclave.

A displaced Palestinian toddler walks on a strip of tent material ripped from a tent shelter in Gaza City in December as the region experiences wind, rain and cold winter conditions.Omar Al-Qattaa / AFP - Getty Images file

"Things are better than bombs falling out of the sky," he told: "But when you`ve got a population that`s been on its knees for years, whose nutrition has been severely undermined, they`re not starting from scratch. They`re already massively weakened and degraded."

While Gazans may no longer be living "in constant fear of death," he said, "the levels of suffering are pretty horrendous."

Israel suspended over two dozen humanitarian organizations on Jan. 1.
Israel accused Doctors Without Borders, one of the enclave`s largest health organizations, of failing to clarify the roles of some staff whom Israel accused of cooperation with Hamas and other militant groups. Israel`s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs said around 25 organizations, or 15%, of the NGOs working in Gaza did not have their permits renewed.

International organizations have said Israel`s rules are arbitrary and could endanger staff.

Rose said newly suspended organizations were going through the same process as UNRWA, which was banned from operating in Gaza last year over Israeli claims the group had been infiltrated by Hamas, which UNRWA denies.

"You`re taking away decades and decades of expertise and community trust in an environment of complete uncertainty," Rose added. "Things will get even worse."

Palestinians queue to receive medicine at the the UNRWA health center in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, in October 2024.Bashar Taleb / AFP - Getty Images file

The Civil Defense ministry has forecast more rain and strong winds for Monday and Tuesday, warning those living in tents, especially those on muddy ground or the beach, to take precautions.

Back in Khan Younis, Asaad Abu Shaab, a 52-year-old father of a family of 13, digs a trench outside his tent, hoping to channel the water away from his home.

"The tent collapsed on my daughters and sons during the night," he said. "We had no choice but to flee to another tent belonging to our neighbors."

As wind continues to pound the camp, a wooden pole delicately holds up the tarpaulin keeping him dry.

"This is a situation no human being can endure," he said.

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By Freddie Clayton/NBC