DaysofPal – The United Nations has announced that nearly 55,000 Palestinian families in the Gaza Strip have been affected by recent heavy rains and severe storms, with widespread damage to their homes and places of shelter.
The announcement was made by Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, during a press briefing at UN headquarters in New York on Wednesday.
Haq said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimates that tens of thousands of families across Gaza have suffered damage or total destruction to their property and shelters as a result of the latest weather conditions.
He added that the storms and rainfall have also damaged dozens of child-friendly spaces across the enclave, disrupting child protection activities and affecting approximately 30,000 children in different parts of Gaza.
Haq warned that ongoing Israeli restrictions continue to obstruct humanitarian organizations’ efforts to rapidly scale up their response in the territory, further complicating relief operations at a time of acute need.
Over the past week, Gaza was hit by two severe weather systems that resulted in the deaths of 16 Palestinians, deepening the already dire living conditions in an area devastated by Israel’s ongoing war.
Torrential rains flooded an estimated 53,000 tents, many of which lack even the most basic humanitarian safety standards, while border crossings remain closed and essential shelter and emergency supplies are barred from entry.
The crisis has been exacerbated by Israel’s failure to adhere to the terms of the ceasefire agreement and its humanitarian protocol, particularly provisions related to the entry of shelter materials, tents, and mobile housing units.
Gaza’s population is enduring these harsh conditions in the aftermath of a devastating two-year war that has killed more than 70,000 people, injured over 171,000 others, and destroyed nearly 90 percent of the enclave’s civilian infrastructure, leaving hundreds of thousands exposed to the elements with little protection or support.
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