Frozen aid, Gaza shivers, and Trump’s deal melts away

Frozen aid, Gaza shivers, and Trump’s deal melts away

by Wim Laven

694 words

Ceasefire? Peace in the Middle East? Ask a Gazan about it (well, not one of the 360 or more that the IDF has killed during the “ceasefire”). Ask the UN, which said 10 days ago that Israel is blocking most of the desperately needed aid (food, shelter, medical) to simply keep people alive as winter descends.

According to a February 2025 assessment in Gaza, about 92% of housing units in Gaza were unfit for use, either completely destroyed or severely damaged, and almost two million people in need of essential household items and emergency shelter. Nine additional months of bombardment and displacement has intensified and deepened the crisis.

In late 2024 only about 23% of winter-shelter needs had been met, and a million displaced Palestinians were at grave risk during cold, wet weather. Humanitarian doctors warn: “Babies are at higher risk of dying from severe cold as they generate less heat than adults. Hunger compounds the risks.”

Cold winter nights mean the trickle of aid is insufficient for the needs. Gaza’s winters are not extreme by global standards—but winter is lethal when relief tents are flooded, blankets are in short supply, and there is no gas for heat.

 The “ceasefire” to the two-year war did not put an end to the humanitarian crisis. Opaque processes that, according to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, breach international law continue to severely restrict aid flows into Gaza. Detailing that enough food, tents and other essentials to fill the equivalent of up to 6,000 trucks is ready for delivery but: 

“As winter approaches and famine continues to grip the population, it is critical that all this aid is allowed into Gaza without delay. Our supplies would be able to provide food … for the entire population for about three months. And that is sitting outside [in Jordan and Egypt], not able to come in. And that is the case for the other UN agencies because the restrictions and the constraints are still there.”

International humanitarian law explicitly prohibits starvation and exposure as methods of warfare. The guise of restraint and false claims of peace ring hollow when infants and children die of hypothermia in the tent camps they have called home for three years. Nighttime lows in Gaza during December often fall into the 40s, with heavy rains and flooding compounding the danger. These conditions can quickly kill malnourished children.

The loosely worded agreement, rushed to headlines by Trump, provided ambiguity and wiggle room that allows continued inhumanity or fails to enforce or implement a credible humanitarian response. Trump’s 20-point deal called for and promised “full aid” but clearly the meager amount reaching the devastated territory is grossly insufficient. A good deal would have included essential features of enforcement, timelines, and penalties to ensure real humanitarian commitments.

Human survival changes in different environments. Starvation can kill in 30 days, dehydration in three days, and hypothermia (in damp, cold, windy conditions) in just an hour or two when people do not have adequate shelter.

Camps of battered tents and soaked mattresses are testament to the blocked and delayed shipments of aid. Every child who freezes to death is an indictment—another life that could have been valued and protected in a real ceasefire and peace process.

The deal melts away without unrestricted humanitarian access and shelter materials. Trump did not negotiate roofs over their heads, dry ground under their feet, or warmth through the night. Winter is the most predictable party in this war, an aid to all those who wish for the extermination of Gazans.

Instead of taking bows and victory laps, it is time to renew humanitarian reality. The cold does not negotiate and is exposing Trump’s theatrics. It is too late for a mere conversation about housing; the need demands it. I assure you, those in the cold do not consider it a peace deal at all.

A ceasefire without shelter is not peace, it is killing by different means, and Trump’s deal leaves millions exposed. Until children can sleep under roofs instead of tarps and tents, the war has not ended, no matter what the headlines claim. Trump’s ceasefire looks more like abandonment.

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Wim Laven, Ph.D., syndicated by PeaceVoice, teaches courses in political science and conflict resolution.