Gaza: Displaced Palestinians Face Disastrous Humanitarian Conditions Amid Winter Storms
Torrential rains on Monday and Tuesday flooded thousands of tents housing displaced persons across the Gaza Strip, compounding the suffering that has persisted since the onset of the Zionist aggression against the Palestinian enclave in October 2023, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.
Low temperatures continue to grip the region, causing flooding in hundreds of tents across several locations. Meanwhile, no reconstruction measures or essential supplies are being provided to the displaced, Wafa stated. Against this backdrop, several deaths were recorded following the collapse of numerous homes triggered by extreme winter weather.
Further fatalities have been reported among children and the elderly due to the extreme cold, a lack of heating, and the dire humanitarian conditions facing those sheltered in tents or in buildings at risk of collapse.
Medical sources have warned of the tragic conditions facing the displaced in Gaza, noting that approximately 127,000 of the 135,000 tents have become uninhabitable.
Families are facing freezing temperatures without sufficient blankets or mattresses to protect them from the damp ground. This is particularly acute for those in dilapidated tents or remote, isolated areas, where the shortage of blankets and heating equipment exceeds 70% across the enclave.
The aggression has resulted in the total or partial destruction of 92% of residential buildings in the Gaza Strip. This has forced the majority of Palestinians into tents that offer no protection from the elements, or into cracked homes that remain at constant risk of collapse during heavy rains.
