UNRWA Warns of Dire Winter Conditions as Gazans Freeze to Death

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) stated that over 100 tents used by displaced Palestinians have been immersed in water due to heavy rains over Khan Younis. 

According to UNRWA, more than 500 Palestinian families, currently living on Gaza’s coast, are grappling with tough winter conditions. 

The relief organization has consistently warned of the worsening humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, due to food insecurity and the severe shortage of humanitarian aid, stressing that its teams are working to deliver aid to those in need, but emphasized that it is “nowhere near enough.”

Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the Civil Defense in Gaza, Mahmoud Basal, detailed the suffering of Palestinians in the Strip, noting that a large number of Palestinians have crowded into displacement camps amid extremely cold weather.

Basal, speaking to our reporters, mentioned that Palestinians dying in the bombardment and of hunger, now face the risk of freezing to death, remarking that seven children and infants have so far died from the cold. 

The Civil Defense stated in a press release that since yesterday, it has received numerous distress calls from displaced citizens whose tents and destroyed homes have been flooded by rainwater.

The Civil Defense in Gaza reported on Tuesday that it has received hundreds of distress calls from forcibly displaced residents whose tents and shelters have been flooded by heavy rainfall, with many pleading for urgent help to rescue their children.

“Our teams are only able to evacuate citizens from their flooded shelters to other locations, which are often unsuitable for housing, leaving them exposed to the elements in the open, under torrential rain and freezing temperatures,” the statement read.