Hamas Urges the Arab League to Act: Gaza Faces Atrocities and Blockade Amid a Deepening Humanitarian Disaster as Winter Arrives
Amid an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe and continued large-scale violence against civilians in the Gaza Strip, the spokesperson for the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas, Hazem Qassem, called on the Arab League to take a responsible and decisive position regarding what the Palestinian people are enduring, despite the announcement of a halt to military operations.
In a statement on Saturday, Qassem said that hunger, illness, and displacement in the Strip are escalating dangerously with the arrival of winter. He stressed that the Arab League must act in accordance with its founding charter, and in coordination with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, to confront the ongoing crimes affecting more than two million Palestinians.
He added that the occupying power continues its campaign through different means — preventing reconstruction, restricting aid deliveries, and tightening the blockade — leading to worsening conditions for children, women, and the elderly, who are living in worn-out tents that offer little protection from the cold and rain.
Gaza Flooded… Displacement Camps Turn Into Pools of Mud and Water
With the deep low-pressure system hitting Palestinian territories since Friday, hundreds of tents across the Strip were flooded, exposing the fragility of the temporary shelters housing families who lost their homes.
Reports indicated that heavy rains inundated dozens of camps in the Mawasi area of Khan Yunis, as well as in Yarmouk, Al-Nafaq, Al-Zaytoun, and Al-Shati Camp, while thousands of families struggled to protect their children from water seeping into the makeshift shelters.
Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmoud Basal reported that emergency teams responded to numerous cases in Khan Yunis and the central governorate, noting that the situation is worsening due to the complete absence of adequate infrastructure or equipment to withstand harsh winter conditions.
Staggering Numbers… Half a Million Families Without Shelter
According to the Civil Defense, more than half a million families are living in extremely difficult conditions inside overcrowded shelters unfit for human habitation. The Government Media Office announced that the Strip urgently needs more than 250,000 new tents and 100,000 prefabricated housing units to provide even minimal levels of protection and shelter.
Gaza Calls for Help… and the World Falls Short
All this comes as the occupying forces continue to restrict the entry of vital humanitarian supplies and obstruct fuel and aid deliveries — amid international silence and inadequate regional response — while children, patients, and displaced families bear the brunt of the worsening humanitarian crisis.