Gaza: Harsh winter weather in the Gaza Strip is compounding the suffering of civilians after more than two years of Israeli war, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said Sunday. 'More rain. More human misery, despair and death,' UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini stated in a post on the US social media company X. Gazans 'are surviving in flimsy, waterlogged tents and among ruins,' he added, emphasizing that aid supplies 'are not being allowed in at the scale required.' He noted, UNRWA 'could multiply these efforts tomorrow if aid flowed in.'

According to Anadolu Agency, the Palestinian government has indicated that Gaza requires approximately 200,000 prefabricated housing units to address the immediate humanitarian needs of displaced people amid severe weather conditions. The government's operations room released a statement highlighting that the current weather system has flooded and blown away thousands of displacement tents across the enclave, further exacerbating the humanitarian crisis.

Gaza has been affected since Saturday by a polar low-pressure system-the third of the winter season-bringing heavy rain and strong winds. The region has been struggling to cope with harsh weather in recent months, as two previous weather depressions resulted in the deaths of 17 Palestinians, including four children, due to the collapse of already damaged buildings from Israeli bombardment, and the flooding and uprooting of tens of thousands of displacement tents.

The adverse weather conditions pose significant danger to displaced Palestinians who are residing in worn-out tents or severely damaged high-risk buildings, which have been under repeated Israeli strikes since October 2023. The Israeli army's actions have resulted in the deaths of more than 71,200 people, mostly women and children, and injuries to over 171,200 others since October 2023 in Gaza, leaving the enclave in ruins.