GAZA /PNN/
Torrential rains overnight and early Tuesday flooded hundreds of tents in displacement camps across the Gaza Strip, deepening the suffering of families already enduring dire conditions under ongoing Israeli bombardment.
Displaced residents reported that strong winds had torn apart their tents over the past two days, leaving them exposed to freezing temperatures without any protection.
In areas such as Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis in southern Gaza, families endured a harrowing night as rainwater inundated their tents and gale-force winds wreaked havoc.
Amid these harsh winter conditions, medical sources confirmed the death of an infant due to the cold and plummeting temperatures. The infant is the seventh to die from exposure and a lack of heating in less than a week.
Emergency response teams received hundreds of distress calls from displaced families, many pleading for help to rescue their children as rainwater flooded their makeshift shelters and destroyed homes. However, rescue crews could only evacuate victims from damaged shelters to equally uninhabitable locations, leaving them exposed to the rain and bitter cold.
Since October 7, 2023, nearly 2 million displaced Palestinians have been forced to live in tattered tents, lacking the most basic necessities to withstand the harsh winter conditions, after Israeli forces destroyed their homes.
Rosalia Polin, UNICEF’s chief communications officer in Gaza, warned of the deteriorating situation as winter sets in. She described children suffering from cold and damp conditions, with many still wearing summer clothing. Polin highlighted that children are scavenging through rubble for plastic scraps to burn for warmth, as diseases spread in the besieged territory where healthcare services have collapsed, and hospitals face relentless attacks.
This cold weather comes at a time when medical sources announced the death of an infant in the Gaza Strip due to the cold weather and low temperatures, the seventh person to die due to the cold and lack of heating in less than a week.
Rescue crews received hundreds of distress calls from the displaced to rescue them and their children, whose tents and destroyed homes were flooded by rainwater.
They indicated that they could only evacuate the displaced from their damaged shelters to other places that are mostly unsuitable for shelter, and they remain in the open under the rain and bitter cold.
The Israeli military has continued its assault on Gaza by land, sea, and air since October 7. The ongoing bombardment has claimed the lives of 45,541 Palestinians, the majority of whom are women and children, and injured 108,338 others, according to the latest figures. Thousands remain buried under rubble or stranded in inaccessible areas, as rescue teams are unable to reach them.
The humanitarian crisis, exacerbated by the onset of winter, underscores the urgent need for international intervention to provide relief and protection to Gaza’s displaced population.
The catastrophic humanitarian conditions have forced about 2 million displaced people since October 7, 2023, to live in dilapidated tents that lack the minimum requirements for a decent life and do not protect against the cold of winter after the Israeli occupation forces destroyed their homes.
