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Strong winter gusts caused walls to collapse upon fragile tents sheltering people uprooted by conflict in Gaza, killing at least four people. This tragedy highlights the dangerous situation that continue after over two years of intense airstrikes and severe shortages of aid.

Truce Provides Little Relief from Severe Weather

While a ceasefire has been active from October, aid groups state that Palestinians do not have the adequate shelter necessary to survive recurring cold-weather events.

Medical staff at Shifa hospital, which took in the victims, said on this week that the dead include a pair of adult females, a girl, and a male adult.

In a separate incident, the Gaza health ministry announced on the same day that a 12-month-old infant died of extreme cold overnight.

"The world has enabled us to witness loss of life in all its forms," stated Bassel Hamouda following the funeral. "It’s true the shelling may have paused for now, but we have seen all imaginable reasons of fatality in the world in the Gaza Strip."

Family Crushed in Shelter Collapse

According to the medical center, 3 people of a one family — elderly Mohamed Hamouda, his 15-year-old granddaughter, and his daughter-in-law — were killed when an 26-foot tall wall fell on top of their tent in a coastal area of the city. No fewer than 5 additional people were hurt in the event.

Family members on Tuesday started clearing the rubble that had entombed their loved ones and reconstructing the tent shelters for survivors.

Humanitarian Distribution and Ongoing Emergency

The UN and its humanitarian partners were distributing shelter kits, tarps, warm covers and clothes as well as food and hygiene supplies throughout Gaza, stated the UN office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs.

Most of Palestinians live in makeshift shelters since their houses were reduced to ruins during the war. Humanitarian organizations contend not enough building supplies are entering Gaza during the ceasefire.

Fatality Numbers After the Ceasefire

The Gaza health ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government, reports over 440 individuals have been fatally shot by gunfire and their remains brought to hospitals after the truce went into effect. The ministry maintains detailed casualty records that are considered generally reliable by UN agencies and independent experts.

James Elder, representing the UN children’s agency Unicef, said on Tuesday that at least 100 children under the age of 18 – 60 males and 40 girls – had been lost their lives after the truce started due to military operations, such as drone strikes, air raids, tank shelling and use of bullets. These numbers, he said, reflected incidents where enough information had been gathered to justify documentation, but the overall count is believed to be greater. He added that many hundreds of minors had been wounded.

"Although 'bombings and gunfire have slowed' during the ceasefire, they have not ceased," Elder told reporters at a UN briefing in the Swiss city by video link from the Strip. "Therefore what the international community now terms calm would be viewed as a catastrophe in any other place," he concluded.

Third Cold Season of Hardship

Gaza’s population of more than 2 million individuals has been struggling to keep the freezing temperatures and bad weather at bay while facing shortages of humanitarian aid and a lack of more substantial transitional shelter, which is badly required throughout the winter months. This marks the third winter after the war between the state and Hamas started on a date in late 2023, when militants stormed into Israeli territory and murdered around 1,200 people and abducted 251 others into Gaza.

The local health authority says more than 71,400 Palestinians have been fatally injured in the subsequent military campaign.