DayofPal—As summer temperatures soar across the Gaza Strip, hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians are enduring extreme heat with little protection.
Most families now live in makeshift tents made of plastic sheets or thin fabric after their homes were destroyed by Israeli forces during the genocide, turning shelters into heat traps with virtually no ventilation or shade.
With electricity has been cut by Israel for years, even basic cooling has become a luxury.
Battery-powered fans are often the only option for relief, but vendors say Israeli ongoing restrictions on the entry of essential supplies and equipment have even made them scarce.
For the few families still living in damaged homes, the cost of cooling equipment has become prohibitive.
A battery-powered fan now costs around $500, while a compatible battery can reach $1,000 and a small solar panel about $1,715, prices far beyond the reach of most households struggling to survive amid sharp rise in unemployment caused by the war.
The destruction of neighborhoods has also eliminated natural shade, leaving displaced people exposed to direct scorshing sun throughout the day.
Families living among rubble or in overcrowded tent camps have few places to escape the intense heat, increasing the risk of dehydration and heat-related illnesses.
Health conditions have further deteriorated as high temperatures combine with severe water shortages, accumulated waste and overcrowded living conditions.
Medical workers have reported rising cases of scabies, chickenpox, heat rashes, acute skin infections, severe skin chafing, as well as eczema, bacterial infections, and fungal diseases, particularly among children.
Many of these illnesses are linked to the lack of clean water, limited opportunities to wash clothes, poor ventilation inside tents, and prolonged exposure to heat and humidity.
Humanitarian organizations warn that without adequate shelter materials, electricity, cooling equipment and improved access to water and sanitation, the summer heat is compounding an already dire humanitarian crisis, placing the health and lives of Gaza’s displaced population, especially children and the elderly, at increasing risk.
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