Merve Aydogan
10 February 2025•Update: 10 February 2025
HAMILTON, Canada
The UN on Monday reported that severe winter storms in Gaza have destroyed multiple child-friendly safe spaces, affecting mental health and psychosocial support for children.
Citing the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), spokesman Farhan Haq said during a news conference that "recent winter storms in Gaza have destroyed at least five child-friendly safe spaces in Khan Younis and the Middle Area. This will significantly impact the provision of community-based mental health and psychosocial support activities."
Haq also said that the storms also demolished the Jabalya women and girls' safe space, the largest such facility in northern Gaza, that provided essential services to nearly 500 women and girls each month.
Saying that the UN and its partners continue to monitor movement through the Netzarim corridor, Haq noted that "since the start of the ceasefire, more than 1.5 million people have received food parcels across Gaza."
On the situation in the occupied West Bank, he said that "ongoing operations by Israeli forces in Jenin, Tulkarm and Tubas continue to cause civilian casualties, with at least 40 people reportedly killed since the beginning of the operations on January 21st."
He added that a six-day Israeli operation in Tammun, Tubas governorate, left homes destroyed and infrastructure severely damaged, leading to water shortages.
"Meanwhile, operations in the El Far’a refugee camp in Tubas have intensified. More than 300 families have reportedly been displaced," Haq said.
The Israeli escalation in the West Bank follows a ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal in Gaza on Jan. 19 after more than 15 months of Israeli bombardment which has killed nearly 48,200 Palestinians and devastated the enclave.
Since the war began on Oct. 7, 2023, Israeli forces and settlers have killed at least 910 Palestinians across the occupied West Bank, according to the Health Ministry.
Asked about US President Donald Trump ruling out Palestinian right of return under his "take over" plan for Gaza, Haq said: "The Secretary General (Antonio Guterres) does not agree with anything that would involve the forced displacement of the population."
"The Secretary General, in his remarks last week, made clear his concerns that no approach for dealing with the Palestinians involve ethnic cleansing," he added.
