Storms damage shelters in Gaza as aid access remains blocked: UN

ISTANBUL

Severe storms, strong winds, and rain have destroyed makeshift tents across the Gaza Strip, worsening shelter conditions for thousands of displaced families as winter sets in, according to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).

Israeli authorities continue to block the UNRWA from directly bringing aid into Gaza, including shelter supplies needed for hundreds of thousands of people affected by the weather, the agency said on US social media company X on Wednesday.

“Tents and tarpaulins are desperately needed,” the UNRWA added, as families face exposure to harsh conditions.

The agency called for humanitarian assistance to be allowed into Gaza without impediment.

The UNRWA was established by the UN General Assembly more than 70 years ago to assist Palestinians who were forcibly displaced from their land.

An Oct. 10 ceasefire deal halted Israel’s two-year war that killed over 71,200 Palestinians, most of them women and children, injured more than 171,200 others since October 2023 and left the enclave in ruins. But despite the ceasefire, Israel’s deadly attacks on Gaza continue.

According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, since the ceasefire, at least 414 people have been killed and over 1,100 others injured.