At least 235,000 people have been affected by a “man-made” crisis in Gaza after low-pressure systems hit the war-torn enclave, the head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said.
“Months of war and displacement have forced people in Gaza to live among collapsed rubble, in makeshift shelters or in flimsy tents,” UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini wrote on social media X, adding:
“While Storm Byron, which hit Gaza on December 10, was a natural disaster, its consequences were man-made.”
Heavy rains and strong winds, caused by low-pressure systems, led to the collapse of 17 buildings and the complete or partial damage of more than 42,000 tents or makeshift shelters, affecting at least 235,000 people between December 10 and 17, Lazzarini said, citing data from the Gaza Shelter Coordination Cluster.
According to the civil protection, a new wave of weather disasters hit Gaza over the weekend, causing two deaths and uprooting tens of thousands of tents.
The weather conditions pose a great danger to displaced Palestinians living in dilapidated tents or in severely damaged, high-risk structures, which have been repeatedly targeted by Israeli attacks since October 2023.
The Israeli military has killed more than 71,200 people, mostly women and children, and wounded more than 171,200 in its offensive on Gaza since October 2023, leaving the enclave in ruins.
Despite a ceasefire that went into effect in Gaza on October 10, Israel continues to keep border crossings closed and prevent the entry of mobile homes and reconstruction materials, further worsening the situation of the nearly 2.4 million people in the enclave.
