Winter looms in Gaza as Intel organizations stress urgent need for shelter supplies: Report

With winter approaching, the need for shelter supplies and warmth essentials is escalating in the besieged and devastated Gaza Strip, while the Israeli enemy continues to impose its restrictions and arbitrary measures on the entry of basic humanitarian aid, despite the availability of these necessary materials in Jordan and Egypt via the crossings.

During the aggression on the Strip, the enemy destroyed approximately 300,000 housing units completely and another 200,000 severely or partially, leading to the forcible displacement of nearly 2 million people in the Gaza Strip. They are now crowded into dilapidated, uninhabitable tents, living in harsh conditions.

UN organizations announced that about 288,000 families in the Gaza Strip have lost their shelter and become homeless, as the Israeli enemy’s destruction encompasses more than 90 percent of the besieged Strip.

The International Commission to Support the Palestinian People (Hashd) said in a statement on its official website, on the occasion of the two-year anniversary of the “Israeli” war against the Gaza Strip, that the aggression has left an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, where the number of martyrs, wounded, and missing has exceeded a quarter of a million people. Furthermore, about 90% of housing, infrastructure, and service facilities have been destroyed, and over two million Palestinians have been displaced, living in tragic conditions characterized by hunger, thirst, lack of shelter, and healthcare.

Amjad al-Shawa, Director of the Network of Non-Governmental Organizations in the Gaza Strip, confirmed on Sunday that four out of six crossings to the Gaza Strip remain closed to the flow of humanitarian aid: “Karni, Zikim, Erez, and Rafah,” while the Israeli enemy authorities continue to impose tight restrictions on Kerem Shalom and Kisufim crossings.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) announced that it has sent more than 47,000 relief items to the Gaza Strip since the announcement of the ceasefire, including 2,500 tents designated for displaced families.

IOM Director General Amy Pope said in a post on X platform on Sunday, that “Shelter is not a luxury; it is what allows families to rest, keep warm, and start rebuilding their lives.”

Ismail al-Thawabta, Director General of the Government Media Office, told the Palestinian Shahab Agency that the humanitarian situation in Gaza has reached catastrophic levels, with hundreds of thousands of citizens displaced by the occupation from their homes facing harsh conditions in tents and shelters.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported that children in Gaza are in desperate need of shelter and blankets, calling for the provision of tents and basic necessities to ensure their protection amid the severe humanitarian conditions they are enduring.
UNICEF, for its part, stressed on Sunday that UNICEF teams are working to scale up the humanitarian response to confront famine, disease, and the winter cold.

In turn, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) emphasized Monday that the UN attaches paramount importance to shelter supplies in the Gaza Strip as the winter season approaches.

The Office said in a post on X platform that “Humanitarian workers attach paramount importance to shelter supplies, especially with winter approaching.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) stressed on Saturday the necessity of providing shelter and warmth essentials for displaced families in the Gaza Strip as winter nears.

UNRWA stated in a post on X platform, “With winter approaching in Gaza, people are in increasing need of shelter and warmth.”

It added that “Shelter materials and winter supplies for displaced families are available in UNRWA warehouses in Jordan and Egypt, and are being prevented from entering.”

Adnan Abu Hasna, UNRWA Media Advisor, confirmed earlier that among the materials the enemy is preventing from entering are hundreds of thousands of tents and shelter supplies that are critically needed with the approach of winter.

For her part, Caroline Willmen, Project Coordinator for Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in the Gaza Strip, said that the humanitarian situation in Gaza has not improved much, as water and shelter shortages persist, and hundreds of thousands are still living in tents with winter approaching.

She added that “Gaza residents have been living in the horror of genocide for two years and are in desperate need of aid just to ensure people can sleep on a mattress and a blanket inside their tents.”
The ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip entered into force on October 10, yet the Israeli enemy’s army continues its daily violations of the agreement.