UN warns powerful storm worsens humanitarian crisis in Gaza

ISTANBUL

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has warned that Storm Byron has further aggravated the already dire living conditions for thousands of displaced people in the Gaza Strip, many of whom are sheltering in tents or damaged buildings.

UNRWA said on US social media company X on Tuesday that the storm has intensified risks for families who have been forced from their homes, as severe weather hits overcrowded and unsafe shelters.

“Storm Byron is worsening the already dire living conditions of thousands of people living in tents or damaged shelters,” the agency said.

UNRWA added that while it continues efforts to support displaced families, Israeli authorities have been blocking the agency from directly bringing humanitarian aid into Gaza for months, limiting the scale of assistance that can reach those in need.

The agency said people have died after damaged buildings collapsed where families were sheltering, while children have died due to exposure to the cold.

“This must stop,” UNRWA said, calling for immediate and unhindered access for humanitarian aid. “Aid must be allowed in at scale, now.”

Since last week, thousands of tents housing survivors of Israel’s war have turned into pools of water, soaking bedding, clothing, and food supplies and leaving hundreds of Palestinian families exposed to the cold without warmth or shelter.

The Gaza Strip, the media office said, needs around 300,000 tents and prefabricated housing units to meet the most basic shelter needs of Palestinians after the destruction of the enclave’s infrastructure in two years of Israeli attacks.