🔗 Share this article

Strong winter gusts brought walls down upon flimsy shelters sheltering Palestinians uprooted by conflict in Gaza, killing no fewer than four people. This tragedy underscores the dangerous living conditions that continue after over 24 months of devastating bombardment and critical shortages of humanitarian assistance.

Truce Offers No Respite from Harsh Elements

Although a ceasefire has been in effect since October, aid groups report that residents do not have the sufficient housing required to withstand recurring winter storms.

Medical staff at Shifa hospital, which took in the victims, said on Tuesday that the deceased were a pair of adult females, a young female, and a man.

Separately, the local health authority announced on Tuesday that a one-year-old boy succumbed of hypothermia overnight.

"International actors has allowed us to witness loss of life in all its forms," stated Bassel Hamouda after the funeral. "It’s true the bombing may have paused for now, but we have seen every conceivable cause of death in the world in the Gaza Strip."

Family Crushed in Shelter Collapse

As per Shifa hospital, 3 members of a one household — elderly Mohamed Hamouda, his teenage relative, and his daughter-in-law — were killed when an 26-foot high wall fell on top of their tent in a area near the sea of Gaza City. At least 5 additional people were hurt in the incident.

Their relatives on that day began removing the debris that had buried their loved ones and reconstructing the temporary homes for those who remained.

Humanitarian Efforts and Continuing Emergency

The UN and its aid organization allies were handing out tents, plastic sheeting, warm covers and clothing as well as food and sanitation supplies across Gaza, said the relevant UN coordination body.

Most of Palestinians reside in makeshift tents since their homes were turned into ruins over the course of the war. Aid groups say not enough shelter materials are reaching Gaza under the truce.

Fatality Figures Since the Truce

The Gaza health ministry, which is part of the administration, says more than 440 individuals have been fatally shot by gunfire and their remains taken to hospitals after the ceasefire went into effect. The authority keeps detailed fatality records that are seen as generally reliable by UN agencies and independent experts.

James Elder, representing the UN children's fund, said on Tuesday that no fewer than one hundred minors under the age of 18 – sixty boys and 40 females – had been lost their lives after the ceasefire began due to armed actions, including drone strikes, airstrikes, tank shelling and use of bullets. Those figures, he explained, reflected incidents where sufficient details had been compiled to justify recording, but the overall count is believed to be higher. He noted that hundreds of children had been wounded.

"Although 'explosions and gunfire have slowed' during the truce, they have not stopped," the spokesperson told journalists at a UN briefing in the Swiss city by video link from the Strip. "Therefore what the world now calls calm would be viewed as a catastrophe in any other place," he said.

Third Cold Season of Hardship

Gaza’s population of more than two million individuals has been fighting to keep the cold weather and bad weather at bay while enduring lack of assistance and a lack of more substantial temporary housing, which is urgently needed throughout the colder season. This marks the third cold season since the conflict involving the state and Hamas started on a date in late 2023, when militants stormed into southern Israel and murdered approximately 1,200 people and abducted 251 others into Gaza.

Gaza’s health ministry reports over 71,400 people have been killed in the subsequent retaliatory offensive.