GAZA CITY, Palestine

Harsh weather conditions are worsening the misery of Palestinian civilians, already struggling to survive under a brutal Israeli onslaught since last year.

For the second year in a row, displaced civilians are facing winter in primitive shelters and tattered fabric tents, suffering from severe shortages of basic necessities, clothing, blankets, and heating equipment.

These dire situation is compounded by catastrophic living conditions due to the lack of food, water, and electricity, which have caused thousands of displaced civilians, especially children, to suffer from severe malnutrition. The United Nations has described this situation as "a pre-death stage."

In August, the UN said that thousands of Palestinian children in Gaza are at risk of severe malnutrition, with approximately 15,000 children diagnosed, including 2,288 suffering from "severe acute malnutrition," after screening about 240,000 children in the strip since the beginning of 2024.

Displaced Gazans complain that their children are unable to withstand the cold waves due to weakened immunity caused by hunger and malnutrition, making them more vulnerable to the extreme winter cold.

The helpless civilians fear that their children are at risk of death, appealing for adequate and nutritious food to help their bodies withstand the freezing temperatures.

As of Monday, at least seven people, including six children, most of whom were newborns, froze to death amid Israel’s genocidal war on the enclave.

The Gaza Strip has been hit by a cold wave and torrential rains since Sunday, bringing more misery to the territory’s 2.3 million population.

 Living in open air

The Gaza Civil Defense said Tuesday that dozens of tents sheltering displaced civilians were flooded with rainwater since early Monday.

In a statement, the service said its teams have received hundreds of distress calls from displaced people whose tents and shelters were inundated, pleading for help to save their children.

"Since yesterday, we have been receiving numerous distress calls from displaced citizens whose tents and destroyed homes have been submerged by rainwater,” it added.

Due to the massive destruction caused by Israel's genocidal war over the past 15 months in Gaza, civil defense teams evacuate displaced individuals from flooded and damaged shelters to other locations, which are often uninhabitable, leaving them in the open air under rain and freezing temperatures.

The Civil Defense called for immediate intervention to assist these families and help relocate them to suitable shelters that protect them from the rain.

Flooded tents

Since early Monday, dozens of tents across Gaza have been flooded or swept away due to heavy rains amid harsh weather conditions.

Rainwater has pooled in streets and between the tents, with displaced civilians unable to drain it, highlighting the need for specialized civil defense intervention.

“The winter has worsened our misery in the camps,” Islam Ahmed, 26, who lives in a tent in Mawasi in the southern city of Khan Younis, told Anadolu.

"Rainwater flooded all our belongings inside the tent - blankets, mattresses, and clothes. Now everything is unusable after being contaminated with mud."

The helpless woman said children soaked by rain no longer have spare clothes to change into to protect themselves from the cold.

"The children are shivering from the cold, and we have no way to warm them."

She noted that before the storm, the displaced Palestinians tried to secure their tents and surround them with sand to prevent water from entering.

“But this effort was futile due to the persistent heavy rain,” she added.

Freezing cold

Soha Barbakh, 41, said she checks on her children every minute while they sleep in the tent, fearing they might freeze to death.

"We never imagined our circumstances would lead to death from the cold. I gave up my blanket to warm my children's bodies, fearing I might lose them," said Barbakh, who lives in a tent in Mawasi, Khan Younis.

She explained that the freezing temperatures caused severe cracks in her hands, leading to occasional bleeding.

"If we adults are affected by this cold, what about the children and infants?"

The Palestinian mother said the displaced civilians have begun suffering from bone pain due to the cold that "penetrates without mercy," amidst a lack of heating equipment.

On Saturday, Gaza’s government media office said 81% of the tents housing the displaced are worn out, threatening the lives of thousands of civilians as winter and severe cold waves set in. The office held Israel responsible for this catastrophe after destroying citizens' homes and forcing them into displacement.

The displaced population is concentrated in the Mawasi area, which stretches along the Mediterranean coast from south of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza to north of Rafah in southern Gaza.

This area, comprising one-fifth of Gaza’s territory, is hosting over 1.7 million displaced Palestinians throughout the months of the Israeli military campaign, according to data published by the international humanitarian aid organization Oxfam in June.

The displaced in this sandy area have suffered extremely challenging living conditions amid shortages of water, food, and basic necessities.

This tragedy coincides with continued Israeli bombardment and house demolitions in various parts of Gaza, resulting in casualties and injuries.

The Israeli army has continued a genocidal war on Gaza that has killed over 45,500 victims, mostly women and children, since a Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023 despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala