As winter approaches, residents living with chronic heart conditions in Gaza face rapidly deteriorating health amid relentless shortages of medicine, overcrowded hospitals, and the lasting effects of the genocidal war. The cold weather, combined with widespread displacement, has turned routine treatment into a near-impossible task, leaving many patients caught between worsening illness and the absence of proper medical care.

In makeshift shelters across the Strip, people with cardiac illnesses describe nights spent battling extreme cold, respiratory infections, and rising blood pressure triggered by stress and poor living conditions. Many live in fragile tents that fail to withstand heavy rain, allowing water mixed with waste to seep inside. For those already struggling with weakened immunity, every storm brings a new medical emergency.

One patient, displaced from northern Gaza to a tent in the centre of the Strip, said his condition had sharply declined over the past two years of genocidal war. He has repeatedly suffered cardiac episodes, including a recent blockage that nearly proved fatal during a severe weather front. With essential medication unavailable and basic heating impossible, he explained that low temperatures intensify chest pain, breathing difficulties and dangerous fluctuations in blood pressure. His family say they cannot provide the sterile environment, warmth or nutrition he needs to stay stable.

Doctors in what remains of Gaza’s hospitals warn that heart patients now face some of the highest risks. Departments that once provided catheterisation, stent procedures and routine monitoring have been left with scarce equipment and minimal supplies after major medical centres were destroyed or forced out of service. With thousands of patients displaced and only a handful of hospitals partly functioning, even emergency care is often delayed or unavailable.

Health workers also report a sharp rise in cardiac complications linked to cold weather. The drop in temperature causes blood vessels to tighten, increasing the likelihood of heart attacks and strokes. Many patients are too weak to walk long distances to hospitals, and the closure of crossings has left more than 22,000 people unable to travel abroad for specialised treatment.

For families caring for vulnerable relatives in tents, every rainstorm brings renewed fear. Flooding, contaminated water and constant exposure to smoke from makeshift cooking fires deepen respiratory and cardiac problems. With winter only beginning, residents warn that the coming months may be unbearable for those whose survival already hangs on the thinnest thread.