They are receiving mental health support from the agency and tarps to protect them from the cold.
Although it has not rained for a few days, the many families living in tents are still struggling to recover from the sudden heavy rains over the weekend.
Degraded and scared
Tess Ingram, from UNICEF in Gaza, described the plight of a displaced family whose tent was flooded. Wafa is a mother of five children and was crying.
“She said there were times when she wished she were at her family home with the children when it was bombed,” Ms Ingram said, adding that Wafa had been referring to “the death of dignity they have experienced in recent days”.
Ms Ingram said an estimated 18,000 homes were affected in more than 100 locations by the recent rains, but many more families were likely affected.
Winter needs to overcome aid amid health crisis
As winter approaches, UN humanitarian partners warn that shelter supplies entering Gaza remain far short of what is needed. Fewer than 60,000 tents and just over 300,000 tarps and bedding items have entered since the beginning of September, after a six-month ban was lifted.
“The volume of articles coming in is simply not enough”said UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric at the daily press conference in New York on Wednesday.
Child protection partners have distributed 48,000 winter clothing kits since the ceasefire, offering some relief to families trying to keep children warm.
Water and sanitation teams have reached around 400,000 people in the last two days with diapers, towels, jerrycans and other essential hygiene supplies.
Ruined sanitation system
With Gaza’s wastewater treatment system effectively destroyed, Partners describe sanitation throughout the Strip as “deplorable”.
In northern Gaza, the Sheikh Radwan ponds are again at risk of overflowing, forcing emergency measures to drain wastewater into the sea. Public health risks are increasing, including Spread of bacterial infections related to contaminated water and waste..
Nutrition partners report a slight drop in malnutrition cases in October, although admissions remain almost four times higher than during the previous ceasefire in January.