‘Disaster area’
A displaced Palestinian woman adjusts the canvas of the family tent shelter as the region experiences rain and cold winter conditions, in Gaza City, on December 28
Amjad Shawa, director of the Palestinian NGOs Network (PNGO), told Al Jazeera Arabic that the severe weather conditions are exacerbating an already catastrophic humanitarian situation.
“This low-pressure system will complicate matters further … and poses a danger to the lives of citizens,” Shawa said.
He said the tents offer no real protection against flooding and called for an urgent entry of mobile homes, or caravans, and equipment to repair destroyed sewage networks.
“Tents represent neither a choice nor a solution,” he said, noting that agreed humanitarian protocols stipulate the provision of adequate shelter.
Shawa urged the international community to pressure Israel to lift restrictions on life-saving aid, describing the entire Gaza Strip as a “disaster area”.
Ceasefire talks
Separately on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu left Tel Aviv for the United States, as negotiators and others discuss the second stage of the ceasefire, the first phase of which took effect on October 10.
The progress in the peace process has been slow. Challenges in phase two of the ceasefire include the deployment of an international stabilisation force, a technocratic governing body for Gaza, the proposed disarmament of Hamas and further Israeli troop withdrawals from the territory.
Israel continues to violate the ceasefire agreement and block desperately needed humanitarian aid to the war-ravaged coastal enclave, even though these are stipulated in the first phase of the agreement.
A 20-point plan proposed by US President Donald Trump in September called for an initial truce followed by steps towards a wider peace. So far, as part of the first phase, there has been the exchange of captives held by Hamas in Gaza and prisoners in Israeli jails, and a partial withdrawal of Israeli forces from the enclave.
However, Israeli attacks continue. Since the truce went into effect, more than 414 Palestinians have been killed and 1,142 wounded in ceasefire violations, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health.
Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza has killed at least 71,266 Palestinians and wounded 171,219 since October 2023.
