Winter Aid Efforts Continue in Gaza Amid Ongoing Violence

As rain falls over Gaza, children take refuge beneath a disabled fishing boat, one of the few places offering shelter in the overcrowded displacement area.

Despite the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, humanitarians continue to receive reports of airstrikes, shelling and gunfire across all five governorates, the United Nations said on Monday.

The incidents have caused casualties and disrupted aid operations over the past 24 hours, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told journalists at UN Headquarters in New York.

Despite the challenges, efforts to deliver assistance to the most vulnerable families are continuing during the cold and wet winter season, although a rescue mission to reach an injured person in Gaza City was denied.

Lack of shelter

“Amid the severe lack of shelter across the Strip, people are staying in buildings that are either partially or heavily damaged as they try to protect their families from the elements,” he said.

Several buildings collapsed over the weekend due to stormy conditions, with casualties reported, according to humanitarian partners.

In addition, three-quarters of women-headed households urgently need shelter support, and two-thirds are in desperate need of clothing.

Mr Dujarric said UN partners continue to work to improve access to dignified shelter for an estimated 1.3 million people in Gaza.

Call to lift aid restrictions

Over the past week, around 3,500 families affected by storms or living in flood-prone areas received tents, bedding sets, mattresses and blankets, while more than 250,000 children were provided with winter clothing.

“However, our partners estimate that 630,000 adolescents across the Strip still need winter clothing assistance,” he added.

“We and our partners once again call for the lifting of all restrictions on the entry of aid into Gaza, including shelter materials, as these constraints hinder humanitarian efforts, especially during the cold winter season.”

Meanwhile, humanitarian teams continue to coordinate aid missions within Gaza, with half of the planned movements on Sunday facilitated by the Israeli authorities.

The teams collected six full tankers of fuel, more than 270 pallets of medical supplies, and other essential food items from the Kerem Shalom (Karem Abu Salem) and Zikim crossings.