Strong winds, rain and winters add to the pain of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza, with thousands of families living in worn-out tents after fires in Israeli coastal enclaves destroying their homes .
Since the ceasefire took effect last month, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have returned to northern Gaza and suspended a 15-month attack on Israeli territory. However, most people have found their homes to be destroyed or severely damaged.
The family then struggles to find shelter among the mounds of debris and destruction that cross the besieged enclave.
A spokesman for the city of Gaza city’s municipality told Al Jazeera he added that there was not enough resources to help evacuates during the storm, and that sewage and rainwater had entered hundreds of tents and shelters.
Mahmoud Riyadh Khalil Al Fayowmi said he spoke to Al Jazeera from a makeshift camp in the courtyard of a school in Gaza city.
“The blanket is very wet,” said Al Fayomi. He described his 2 month old baby with a spinal cord injury and his siblings as staying with others due to harsh weather conditions.
“We don’t know what to do. We don’t know where to go. This is what we are.”
In a report from Gaza city, Hani Mahmoud of Al Jazeera said heavy rain and wind forced many Palestinians to leave their makeshift camp in the western part of the city.
Basic equipment such as warm clothing is also not widely available, and the situation is getting worse.
“Not only does people today lack shelters, they are also very important supplies that provide warmth and protection from these horrifying weather conditions,” Mahmoud said.
In the latest update on Wednesday, the UN Humanitarian Agency (OCHA) said more than 500,000 people will return to Gaza and North Gaza, “the need for food, water, tents and shelter materials in the area remains important.” I did.
Shelter aid has been limited despite an increase in humanitarian delivery since the ceasefire took hold on January 19th.
Earlier this week, the Gaza government’s media office accused Israel of restricting the flow of aid and shelter to territory.
“Securing shelters has become an urgent humanitarian need that cannot be delayed, he said in a statement earlier this week.
Tess Ingram, the United Nations child rights agency and communications manager at UNICEF, said Palestinians in Gaza lost so much during the war that they were not equipped to withstand cold weather.
This situation is particularly dangerous for children, Ingram told Al Jazeera of Gaza City.
“For children in these conditions, getting out, exposed and in the cold is not only scary, but it’s also extremely dangerous to their happiness,” she said. “We have many children in Gaza died of hypothermia. When we met with our families here, it’s clear that they don’t have what they need to protect them from the cold. There is a lack of warm clothes for the kids. There are many kids without shoes.”
Palestinians who have been evacuated continue to face harsh conditions in other parts of Gaza.
“The tents were flying away and the people were in chaos,” Sakar Abdelar told Al Jazeera, Deia El Bala, in the heart of the enclave. “We’re now carrying our belongings to the man who agreed to host us until the winter is over.”
“This is more difficult for us than displacement,” said Anwar Helis, another Palestinian from Deia El Bala. “We woke up at night and found out that the tent had been destroyed by the wind. Our clothes and food were filled with sand.”
In southern Gaza, Rafa City is seeking 40,000 additional tents and emergency shelter units for its residents. The city still hosts thousands of displaced people whose homes have been destroyed in other areas.
The local government also said there were no sufficient heavy equipment to prevent roads from reopening and clearing tiled bleach.
Source link
