Alwaght- Over the past two nights, Gaza has underwent the toughest wave of cold that has become a new enemy to about 2 million displaced Gazans in the war-ravaged enclave. This is the third back-to-back winter with disasterous conditions for the residents of Gaza under rain and cold. In fact, over the past two years of war, Gaza has been left to its own in the face of the Israeli genocidal campaign and now it is left alone to the mercy of cold this time, too. Torrential rains are battering this war-devastated strip, flattening refugee tents and collapsing buildings onto displaced families. The devastating storms have already claimed dozens of lives.
Footages emerge to suggest that no tent in Gaza can withstand the extreme cold and heavy storms and as the winter arrives, the displaced civilians struggle with horrific conditions.
1.6 million facing malnutrition
UNRWA communications advisor Adnan Abu Hasna said that 1.6 million Palestinians in Gaza are facing acute levels of malnutrition and food insecurity as a result of Israel continuing to block entry of basic humanitarian aid, especially for winter.
In a stark warning about consequences of a severe weather system sweeping the enclave, Abu Hasna warned that a powerful weather system sweeping across Gaza has had devastating consequences, ripping apart thousands of worn-out tents and causing widespread flooding and sewage overflow in residential areas, severely disrupting the lives of displaced families. He said most of the tents were erected using substandard materials, plastic sheets and makeshift fabric, and are effectively incapable of protecting residents from heavy rain and storms.
The UNRWA official added that the Israeli regime has blocked 6,000 trucks at border crossings carrying hundreds of thousands of tents, blankets, winter clothing, and food supplies, aid that could sustain Gaza’s population for three months.
Reports also indicate that a harsh winter is rapidly destroying tents that offer neither insulation against the cold nor protection from rain. Residents of the Gaza Strip are grappling with extremely dire humanitarian conditions, as plunging temperatures, torrential rainfall, and the absence of safe shelter have compounded the suffering of war-displaced civilians.
UNRWA chief Philip Lazzarini announced that torrential rains, disillusionment, and a feeling of gradual death amid harsh winter conditions have compounded the situation for Gazans.
He added that Gaza residents are living in worn-out tents while they are soaked by rain, and adequate humanitarian aid is denied to them by Israeli regime.
Reconstruction hostage to procrastination and winter
The reality is that after a devastating two-year war waged by Tel Aviv, mountains of rubles are still making the face of Gaza, something that not only displays a gloomy facade of the city but also paralizes the daily life of the residents. Blocked roads, unsafe alleyways, and homes reduced to piles of rubble have become a grim routine for families who live this nightmare every day. Despite the passage of time, heavy machinery and essential equipment needed to clear debris and begin reconstruction remain barred at the crossings. Gaza residents say the world has seen these scenes repeatedly on screens, yet no meaningful pressure has been applied to force the occupying regime to allow in equipment or launch reconstruction efforts.
Meanwhile, delays in implementing the second phase of the ceasefire agreement and the continued obstruction of rebuilding have compounded civilian suffering. Winter itself has become a tool of added pressure by Israeli occupation, with its rain and cold making the rubble more dangerous and life in tents and partially destroyed homes increasingly unbearable. Many view this policy as a deliberate attempt by Tel Aviv to force residents into displacement from their homes.
Winter tougher than war
In a report, the Washington Post has shed light on the dire Gaza conditions, saying that despite ceasefire, the people of this Palestinian region are facing a new winter with great suffering.
Extreme food crisis and weather conditions, the newspaper adds, come as the health system of the enclave is far from being able to provide vital services to the residents as it is devastated by Israeli bombings.
The Washington Post, citing a panel of international experts, reported that nearly three-quarters of Gaza’s population is suffering from acute food insecurity.
Elsewhere in the report, the newspaper said recent winter storms have killed dozens of Palestinians, while obstruction by the Israeli regime in allowing humanitarian aid to enter has pushed conditions for displaced people and residents of Gaza to the brink of unlivability. Severe shortages of fuel, heating equipment, and adequate food, combined with freezing temperatures, have placed the lives of thousands more at serious risk.
World turning a blind eye to Gaza suffering
Many of supporters of the Palestinians resistance are critical of the world community's indifference to the appalling Gaza situation. A leader in Yemen’s Ansarullah resistance movement Nasruddin Amer has lashed out at the international community for closing its eyes to the Gaza conditions in the winter, saying: "Rain, sea water, and winter have made the life of Gaza people who are living in tents a real tragedy. Now we ask, where are the guarantors of the ceasefire deal? Where are Turkey, Qatar, Egypt? Where is the lier United States? Neither the mediators take action nor the world reacts, nor the Arab world says a word. Gaza situation is no longer a priority even to the media outlets."
Meanwhile, European countries that always claim advocacy to the human rights and dignity have so far taken no measures to improve the conditions for displaced Gaza civilians and the human rights organizations are turning a blind eye to the Palestinian plight.
