Gaza faces winter: flooded tents and worsening suffering for the displaced amid a lack of aid

According to United Nations relief agencies, more than two million Palestinians are now crowded into less than half the area of ​​the Strip, while most of the displaced lack sufficient shelter materials to protect them from rain and wind, in the wake of a war that left widespread destruction in residential areas.

In recent days, unstable weather and heavy rain have led to thousands of tents being submerged with water, posing a direct threat to families – especially children.

The spokesman for the United Nations Secretary-General, Stephane Dujarric, pointed out in his press conference in New York that many Palestinian families live in poorly equipped shelters that are vulnerable to floods, which “It inevitably makes people vulnerable to inclement weather.”

He stressed that the United Nations and its partners are making every effort “Everything they can to alleviate the problem,” However, the humanitarian operation is still facing “Systematic prevention of basic materials” As well as banning the work of major relief organisations, including some UN partner NGOs.

“Worse than bad situation”

When a UN News correspondent met Ahmed al-Baghdadi in the camps in central Gaza, he was trying to erect concrete barriers around his tent after it was flooded by rainwater.

And he said: “We are in a miserable state. We all drowned. We lost our mattress and everything inside the tent that collapsed on us. The situation is not only tragic, but worse than bad. Most of what we say is that God is sufficient for us and He is the best disposer of affairs in the situation we have reached. What can we do? Take a shovel, scoop out the water, and build sandbars. This is all we can.”

In Al-Karama camp for displaced people in Deir Al-Balah, Mrs. Asma Fayyad said that rain continued to fall on her family all night. She added: “We were collecting water with buckets. The rain got intense in the morning, tearing the tent and collapsing. All our blankets, mattresses and clothes became wet. Now we are trying to spread them out to dry so we can put them back on.”

Relief organizations have warned that worsening winter conditions may increase health risks to the population, in light of a severe shortage of basic services and continued obstruction of the delivery of aid, while displaced families struggle to adapt to a humanitarian reality that is becoming more harsh day by day.