UNRWA says severe winter deepens civilian hardship in Gaza
Commenting on the worsening weather, the head of the UN agency assisting Palestinian refugees warned that continued rainfall is amplifying human suffering. “More rain. More human misery, despair and death,” he said in a public statement.
He noted that many residents are enduring the winter in unsafe conditions, explaining that Gazans “are surviving in flimsy, waterlogged tents and among ruins.” He also cautioned that humanitarian assistance is failing to reach the territory in sufficient quantities, warning that aid deliveries “are not being allowed in at the scale required.”
The UN agency stressed that its response could be rapidly expanded if access improves, adding that it “could multiply these efforts tomorrow if aid flowed in.”
In a separate statement, Palestinian authorities said the scale of displacement has created an urgent need for temporary housing, estimating that around 200,000 prefabricated units are required to shelter those affected by the crisis amid severe weather.
According to the government’s emergency operations room, the latest storm system has flooded and destroyed thousands of tents across Gaza, sharply worsening the humanitarian situation throughout the enclave.
Since Saturday, Gaza has been hit by a powerful polar low-pressure system — the third major winter storm this season — bringing intense rainfall and strong winds.
The territory has struggled to cope with extreme weather in recent months. Two earlier winter systems reportedly caused the deaths of 17 Palestinians, including four children, after weakened structures collapsed and large numbers of displacement tents were swept away or flooded.
Current conditions pose significant risks to displaced families sheltering in deteriorating tents or structurally unsafe buildings, many of which have already sustained damage from repeated Israeli strikes since October 2023.
Since that time, Israeli military operations in Gaza have resulted in the deaths of more than 71,200 people, most of them women and children, and injuries to over 171,200 others, according to reports, leaving much of the enclave devastated.
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