Gaza’s children are facing a deadly convergence of war, disease, and extreme winter conditions, the head of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has warned, describing a humanitarian catastrophe that is rapidly deepening.

Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA’s Commissioner-General, said the situation has reached an alarming point as disease risks soar to record levels.

After more than two years of relentless war, thousands of children across the Gaza Strip have repeatedly missed out on routine vaccinations, leaving them dangerously exposed to preventable and potentially fatal diseases.

The crisis is being sharply intensified by harsh winter weather. Cold temperatures, heavy rainfall, and flooding are sweeping through Gaza, inundating makeshift shelters where displaced families are crammed together.

In these overcrowded conditions, poor water and sanitation systems have become a breeding ground for illness, while Gaza’s medical system has largely collapsed under the weight of ongoing attacks and shortages.

“Disease risks are at record highs,” Lazzarini warned, pointing to the deadly combination of unsafe water, inadequate sanitation, and the lack of functioning healthcare facilities. For Gaza’s youngest residents, this combination is particularly devastating.

In a race against time, UNRWA, alongside UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO), and local partners, launched the second round of a critical vaccination campaign this week, targeting children under the age of three. The campaign aims to protect them from outbreaks of preventable diseases at a moment when their immunity has been dangerously weakened by prolonged conflict and deprivation.

“This matters more than ever,” Lazzarini stressed, as humanitarian agencies struggle to reach children amid destruction, displacement, and severe access constraints.