Since October 2023, the Gaza Strip has been living through one of the most severe and prolonged displacement crises of recent decades. Families who fled bombardment lost not only their homes but any prospect of returning to them. More than a million people came to settle in makeshift sites along the coastline, in public spaces, on school grounds, and on the edges of urban areas, sheltering in manufactured tents that offered little protection from the elements. With almost no intact housing available, families in tents on low-lying, near-sea-level ground faced acute exposure when winter arrived.

In December 2025 and January 2026, severe weather swept through the Gaza Strip, bringing high waves, sea surges, strong winds, and flash flooding that severely affected the population of the strip. For humanitarian responders operating in a complex conflict environment with severely limited ground access, understanding the scale and geography of risk was not achievable through ground and field assessment. The speed of weather events, the density and heterogeneity of displacement sites, and the inaccessibility of many areas meant that evidence-based action required a different kind of tool.

Most displaced people in the Gaza Strip are concentrated very close to the coastline, which is extremely low lying—practically at sea level.- Senior OCHA OPT official

For humanitarian responders operating in such a complex conflict environment, ground access to displacement sites was severely constrained. The speed of weather events, the density and heterogeneity of displacement sites, and the inaccessibility of many areas meant that a satellite-based analytical approach was required to support evidence-based humanitarian action.

The partnership between OCHA and the United Nations Satellite Centre yielded several significant outcomes:

1. Enhanced Evidence-Based Decision Making

By combining satellite-based analysis of flooding with risk modelling for sea surge and wind, and integrating field-reported events with population data, the United Nations Satellite Centre produced a comprehensive impact analysis: shelters were categorised by risk level, enabling responders to prioritize at the right scale and geographic distribution. This information directly informed cluster-level response planning.

UNOSAT (UN Satellite Centre) provided a precise geographic analysis showing how many people were at risk from flooding and sea surge. They zoned populations, categorized tents by risk, and quantified exposure across high, medium, and lower risk areas. At the time, we estimated around 220,000 people were at extreme risk, and this analysis was shared directly with the Shelter and Site Management Clusters. - Senior OCHA OPT official

2. Enabled Anticipatory Action Measures

The activation of the United Nations Satellite Centre's analysis was itself anticipatory. OCHA knew a storm was approaching and, knowing that the vast majority of the displaced population was concentrated along the low- lying coastline, the team notified the United Nations Satellite Centre to begin analysis before the weather event struck.

Products were delivered in advance of the peak weather events, giving humanitarian actors the lead time needed to act before conditions deteriorated further. The information was shared with the Shelter Cluster and the Site Management Cluster, which used it to coordinate the movement of vulnerable populations away from the highest-risk zones. Requests for additional tents were dispatched so that families could relocate, and aid was pre-positioned for those who had sought refuge in coastal areas.

Operationally, the information arrived at exactly the right time. It enabled us to anticipate actions before the event occurred. The data strengthened situational awareness and enabled relevant clusters to intervene early and deliver assistance to people sheltering near the coastline. - Senior OCHA OPT official

The material stakes of protecting each shelter were exceptionally high. With supply chains severely disrupted by the conflict, replacement tents were nearly impossible to source.

A single tent can cost around 400 to 700 US dollars, which is far beyond the reach of families affected by two years of conflict. Preventing tent loss was therefore critical, and the data had a significant impact on both operations and coordination. - Senior OCHA OPT official

3. People Reached: Saving Lives and Reducing Economic Damage

Families in the highest-risk zones were alerted, and many succeeded in relocating or reinforcing their shelters before conditions worsened. Tents that might otherwise have been inundated or destroyed were relocated, preserving the most basic form of shelter available to displaced families. Senior OCHA OPT official drew a clear distinction between the value of damage assessment, which comes after the fact, and the value of anticipatory geospatial analysis, which changes what is possible before the crisis peaks:

Damage assessment is useful for understanding a crisis after it happens. However, tracking people through satellite imagery and helping those who choose to relocate to safer areas has far greater value. It saves lives, saves money, and significantly reduces humanitarian needs and suffering. - Senior OCHA OPT official

People who were informed in advance that their tents were at risk were able to mobilize and relocate. The scale was very large—around 220,000 people. The impact was real, visible, and operationally meaningful. - Senior OCHA OPT official

4. Improved Clusters Coordination and Planning

The United Nations Satellite Centre's products provided a shared, satellitederived evidence base that cut across cluster boundaries. The Shelter Cluster, the Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM) Cluster, and the Site Management Cluster were aligned around a single picture of risk. The 
Humanitarian Pooled Fund placed an allocation specifically to target those people impacted by the winter conditions, directing resources to households 
identified as most exposed.

The UNOSAT (UN Satellite Centre) team delivered exceptional support during the winter period. Their analysis directly enabled preparedness for the winterization season and guided humanitarian funding allocations toward people affected by floods, rainfall, and windstorms.

- Senior OCHA OPT official

Beyond this specific response, the United Nations Satellite Centre's geospatial analysis products are systematically integrated into the broader humanitarian 
coordination architecture in the occupied Palestinian territory. Products are referenced in OCHA Situation Reports and the Inter-Cluster Coordination Group 
(ICCG) minutes, and contribute to the evidence base underpinning Humanitarian Response Plans (HRPs) and cluster response strategies. The project targets 
integration across seven humanitarian clusters: Shelter, WASH, Health, Food Security, Education, Protection, and Logistics, and up to ten humanitarian 
organisations, including UN agencies and NGO partners operating across the Gaza Strip