GENEVA: The Red Cross said on Monday it has distributed over 300 tents to displacement camps in southern Gaza in recent days but warned that the current supply of shelter materials to the enclave falls far short of urgent needs on the ground.
In addition to the 300 tents, more than 1,500 are expected to be delivered in coming days, the Red Cross added, but said hundreds of thousands of people desperately need new tents or tarpaulins after months of wear and tear on existing supplies.
“Many displaced families are living in appalling conditions — some among the rubble of their destroyed homes, others in makeshift tents constructed from tarpaulins and scrap metal,” Sarah Davies, a spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross, told Reuters.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs told Reuters separately that humanitarian groups had sent “a limited number of tents” into Gaza in recent weeks, but many more were needed.
Over 1.3 million Gazans currently lack tents, according to the United Nations, and further displacement is anticipated as Israel conducts a major assault on Gaza City, where hundreds of thousands of residents are living among the ruins.
COGAT, the Israeli defense agency that deals with humanitarian issues, told Reuters that 5,000 tents had entered Gaza since restrictions on shelter materials were lifted near the end of August.
Aid organizations say Israel effectively blocked deliveries of materials for shelter for nearly six months, and despite the lifting of the restriction last month, international NGOs such as CARE International, ShelterBox, and the Norwegian Refugee Council reported on Monday they have yet to receive authorization to deliver such materials.
COGAT said: “Every organization that wants to enter tents is absolutely allowed to do so.”
The International Organization for Migration told Reuters it still has about 35,000 tents as well as half a million tarpaulins waiting in Jordan pending customs clearance.
“It’s frustrating. We need political solutions and then you can remove things like customs clearance and then we can move quicker,” said Karl Baker, Regional Crisis Coordinator and head of IOM Gaza Response.
Israel’s assault has reduced much of the enclave to rubble and caused a humanitarian catastrophe. More than 64,000 Palestinians have been confirmed killed, according to health officials in Gaza.
The war began with an assault by Hamas-led fighters on southern Israel in 2023. The attackers killed 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.
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Some tents enter Gaza but Red Cross says enclave needs many more
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Some tents enter Gaza but Red Cross says enclave needs many more
- In addition to the 300 tents, more than 1,500 are expected to be delivered in coming days, the Red Cross added
- Hundreds of thousands of people desperately need new tents or tarpaulins after months of wear and tear on existing supplies, the Red Cross said
Children dying from cold as storm batters Gaza, killing 13
- Three children die from exposure as winter rains flood displacement camps
- Wet weather causes war-damaged buildings and walls to collapse, killing 10
GAZA CITY: Gaza’s civil defense agency on Friday said at least 13 people had died in the last 24 hours, including three children who died from exposure to the cold, as a winter storm batters the territory.
Heavy rain from Storm Byron has flooded tents and temporary shelters across the Gaza Strip since late Wednesday, compounding the suffering of the territory’s residents, nearly all of whom were displaced during more than two years of war.
Gaza’s civil defense agency, which operates as a rescue force under Hamas authority, told AFP three children had died from exposure to the cold — two in Gaza City and one in Khan Yunis in the south.
Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City confirmed the deaths of Hadeel Al-Masri, aged nine, and Taim Al-Khawaja, who it said was just several months old.
Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis on Thursday said eight-month-old Rahaf Abu Jazar had died in the nearby tented encampment of Al-Mawasi due to the cold.
With most of Gaza’s buildings destroyed or damaged, thousands of tents and homemade shelters now line areas cleared of rubble.
Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal said six people died when a house collapsed in the Bir Al-Naja area of the northern Gaza Strip.
Four others died when walls collapsed in multiple separate incidents, he said.
In a statement, the civil defense said its teams had responded to calls from “13 houses that collapsed due to heavy rains and strong winds, mostly in Gaza City and the north.”
No dry clothes
Under gloomy skies in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip, Palestinians used bowls, buckets and hoes to try and remove the water that had pooled around their tents made of plastic sheeting.
Young children, some barefoot and others wearing open sandals, trudged and hopped through ponds of muddy water as the rain continued to fall.
“The mattress has been soaked since this morning, and the children slept in wet bedding last night,” Umm Muhammad Joudah told AFP.
“We don’t have any dry clothes to change into.”
Saif Ayman, a 17-year-old who was on crutches due to a leg injury, said his tent had also been submerged.
“In this tent we have no blankets. There are six of us sleeping on one mattress, and we cover ourselves with our clothes,” he said.
The Hamas-run interior and national security ministry gave a preliminary toll of 14 dead due to the effects of the winter rains since Wednesday.
A ceasefire between Israel and militant group Hamas that took effect in October has partially eased restrictions on goods and aid entering into the Gaza Strip.
But supplies have entered in insufficient quantities, according to the United Nations, and the humanitarian needs are still immense.
The UN’s World Health Organization warned on Friday that thousands of families were “sheltering in low-lying or debris-filled coastal areas with no drainage or protective barriers.”
“Winter conditions, combined with poor water and sanitation, are expected to drive a surge in acute respiratory infections,” it added.
Heavy rain from Storm Byron has flooded tents and temporary shelters across the Gaza Strip since late Wednesday, compounding the suffering of the territory’s residents, nearly all of whom were displaced during more than two years of war.
Gaza’s civil defense agency, which operates as a rescue force under Hamas authority, told AFP three children had died from exposure to the cold — two in Gaza City and one in Khan Yunis in the south.
Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City confirmed the deaths of Hadeel Al-Masri, aged nine, and Taim Al-Khawaja, who it said was just several months old.
Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis on Thursday said eight-month-old Rahaf Abu Jazar had died in the nearby tented encampment of Al-Mawasi due to the cold.
With most of Gaza’s buildings destroyed or damaged, thousands of tents and homemade shelters now line areas cleared of rubble.
Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal said six people died when a house collapsed in the Bir Al-Naja area of the northern Gaza Strip.
Four others died when walls collapsed in multiple separate incidents, he said.
In a statement, the civil defense said its teams had responded to calls from “13 houses that collapsed due to heavy rains and strong winds, mostly in Gaza City and the north.”
No dry clothes
Under gloomy skies in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip, Palestinians used bowls, buckets and hoes to try and remove the water that had pooled around their tents made of plastic sheeting.
Young children, some barefoot and others wearing open sandals, trudged and hopped through ponds of muddy water as the rain continued to fall.
“The mattress has been soaked since this morning, and the children slept in wet bedding last night,” Umm Muhammad Joudah told AFP.
“We don’t have any dry clothes to change into.”
Saif Ayman, a 17-year-old who was on crutches due to a leg injury, said his tent had also been submerged.
“In this tent we have no blankets. There are six of us sleeping on one mattress, and we cover ourselves with our clothes,” he said.
The Hamas-run interior and national security ministry gave a preliminary toll of 14 dead due to the effects of the winter rains since Wednesday.
A ceasefire between Israel and militant group Hamas that took effect in October has partially eased restrictions on goods and aid entering into the Gaza Strip.
But supplies have entered in insufficient quantities, according to the United Nations, and the humanitarian needs are still immense.
The UN’s World Health Organization warned on Friday that thousands of families were “sheltering in low-lying or debris-filled coastal areas with no drainage or protective barriers.”
“Winter conditions, combined with poor water and sanitation, are expected to drive a surge in acute respiratory infections,” it added.
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