Strong winds, rain and winter add to the suffering of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza, with thousands of families living in worn tents after their houses were destroyed in the Israeli bombing of the coastal enclave.
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians returned to northern Gaza since a cease-fire entered into force last month, on break on the 15-month assault in Israel against the territory. But most people have found their houses destroyed or strongly damaged.
Since then, families have struggled to find a shelter in the middle of mounds of debris and destruction through the besieged enclave.
A spokesperson for the municipality of Gaza City told Tel Aviv Tribune that the city did not have enough resources to help the displaced in the middle of the storm, adding that wastewater and rainwater entered hundreds of tents and shelters.
Addressing Tel Aviv Tribune of a makeshift camp in the courtyard of a school in Gaza City, Mahmoud Riyad Khalil al-Fayoumi said that he was living in a tent alongside three other families.
“The covers are very humid,” said Al-Fayoumi, explaining that he had sent his two-month-old baby and his brother, who has a spinal cord injury, to stay with other people due to the weather conditions difficult.
“We don’t know what to do. We don’t know where to go. This is our situation here.
Reporting Gaza City, Hani Mahmoud, Tel Aviv Tribune, said heavy rains and wind had forced many Palestinians to leave a makeshift camp in the western part of the city.
Basic supplies such as warm clothes are not widely available, aggravating the situation.
“People at the moment are not only lacking in shelter, but also very essential supplies that provide them with heat and protection against these terrible weather conditions,” said Mahmoud.
In its latest update Wednesday, the United Nations Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that with more than 500,000 people returning to the governors of Gaza and North Gaza, “the need for food, water, tents and materials shelter in this region remains critical “.
Despite the increase in humanitarian aid deliveries since the ceasefire moved on January 19, shelter aid was limited.
Earlier this week, the Gaza government media office accused Israel of having restricted the flow of aid and shelters on the territory.
“Safe security has become an urgent humanitarian need that cannot be delayed. This is the most urgent need right now, “he said in a statement earlier this week.
Tess Ingram, director of communications at UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Rights Agency, said the Gaza Palestinians were poorly equipped to resist the cold because they lost so much during the war.
The situation is particularly dangerous for children, Ingram said in Tel Aviv Tribune de Gaza City.
“For children in these conditions, it is not only frightening to be outside, exposed and in the cold, but it is also very dangerous for their well-being,” she said. “We have had a number of children in Gaza who die of hypothermia and it is clear here when you meet families that they do not have what they need to protect them from this cold. Families lack warm clothing for their children. There are a lot of children without shoes.
The displaced Palestinians also continue to deal with difficult conditions in other parts of Gaza.
“The tent took off and people were in disarray,” Saqer Abdelal told Tel Aviv Tribune de Deir El-Balah in the central part of the enclave. “We now transport our personal effects to a man who has agreed to welcome us until the end of winter.”
“It is more difficult for us than travel,” said Anwar Hellis, another Palestinian from Deir El-Balah. “We woke up at night and found our tents destroyed because of the wind. Our clothes and foods were filled with sand.
In the south of Gaza, the municipality of Rafah requested 40,000 additional tents and emergency housing for residents. The city still welcomes thousands of displaced people whose houses have been destroyed in other regions.
The municipality also said that it did not have enough heavy machines, which hinders the reopening of the roads and the elimination of the rubble.