In brief
Gaza is facing a dire humanitarian crisis as heavy winter rains exacerbate the challenging living conditions for displaced families. Over 260,000 households urgently need emergency shelter, with reports of children already falling sick due to poor conditions. Aid organizations are pleading for more tents and supplies as they highlight the bureaucratic hurdles preventing timely aid distribution. Families describe heartbreaking struggles to stay dry and keep food from spoiling, with many facing a lack of basic necessities.
Aid agencies have reiterated calls for Israel to allow more tents and urgently needed supplies into Gaza after the first heavy winter rainfall, saying more than a quarter of a million families need emergency help with shelters.
We are going to lose lives this winter. Children, families will perish, says Jan Egeland, Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).
With a majority of the population displaced by two years of a devastating war, most Gazans now live in tents - many of them makeshift. They have been clearing up after widespread flooding due to a winter storm that began on Friday.
There are fears that diseases could spread as rainwater has mixed with sewage water. Families like that of Fatima Hamdona face dire conditions, with children falling ill and essential supplies being ruined by the rains.
The situation is replicated across southern cities, where families are left to dry out flooded mattresses and blankets while living in makeshift shelters.
According to the NRC, about 260,000 families, or roughly 1.5 million people, are in dire need of emergency shelter assistance. However, NGOs report that they have only managed to provide roughly 19,000 tents since the Israel-Hamas ceasefire.
Compounding the crisis, items deemed 'dual-use' by Israel face severe import restrictions. Many displaced families are feeling forgotten, as promises of assistance fall short of urgent needs. Egeland emphasizes that immediate shelter is required now, not promises for the future.
While a promised conference on longer-term reconstruction looms, the needs of those living in the harsh winter conditions cannot be ignored.
