DaysofPal- Gaza’s Civil Defense has issued a warning that a severe cold wave, accompanied by strong winds and sharply falling temperatures, is posing serious dangers to residents, particularly displaced families living in tents and those sheltering in partially destroyed buildings.
Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for the Civil Defense in the Gaza Strip, said Friday that the extreme weather could cause the collapse of structures already weakened by earlier Israeli airstrikes, while also increasing the risk of injury and death due to severe cold exposure.
Basal stressed that infants, elderly people, and patients are the most at risk, noting that the majority of displaced families lack heating supplies and are living in deteriorating tents that offer little to no protection from harsh winter conditions.
He said Civil Defense teams are operating with severely limited capacity because of acute shortages of equipment and fuel, significantly restricting their ability to respond swiftly to emergencies during the storm.
Basal called on the international community, the United Nations, and human rights organizations to intervene urgently and exert pressure to allow the entry of shelter materials, fuel, heating supplies, and other essential humanitarian aid, as well as to provide immediate protection for civilians.
He warned that if conditions continue, the freezing nights could trigger a new humanitarian disaster threatening lives across Gaza.
According to an earlier statement from Gaza’s Government Media Office, recent winter storms have already caused more than 50 homes and buildings, previously damaged by bombardment, to collapse.
These incidents resulted in the deaths and injuries of dozens of people who had sought refuge in the structures after losing their homes, amid a lack of safe alternatives.
Authorities also reported deaths caused by extreme cold inside displacement tents, as more than 127,000 tents have become uninhabitable, leaving over 1.5 million displaced people without adequate shelter capable of providing basic protection from winter weather.
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