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Strong cold-season winds brought walls down upon flimsy shelters sheltering people displaced by conflict in Gaza, claiming the lives of no fewer than 4 individuals. These deaths highlights the dangerous situation that persist after more than two years of devastating bombardment and critical lack of aid.

Ceasefire Offers Little Relief from Severe Weather

While a ceasefire has been in effect since October, aid groups report that Palestinians do not have the adequate housing required to withstand frequent cold-weather events.

Medical staff at Shifa hospital, which received the victims, said on this week that the deceased were a pair of adult females, a young female, and a male adult.

Separately, the local health authority announced on Tuesday that a 12-month-old infant died of extreme cold during the night.

"International actors has enabled us to experience death in every possible way," said Bassel Hamouda following the burial. "It’s true the bombing may have paused for now, but we have seen every conceivable cause of fatality in the world in the Gaza Strip."

Family Buried in Shelter Collapse

According to Shifa hospital, 3 people of a one household — 72-year-old a man, his teenage granddaughter, and his son's wife — were fatally injured when an eight-metre high wall fell onto their tent in a coastal area of Gaza City. At least five additional people were hurt in the incident.

Their relatives on Tuesday began removing the debris that had entombed their loved ones and rebuilding the temporary homes for those who remained.

Humanitarian Efforts and Continuing Emergency

United Nations agencies and its aid organization allies were distributing shelter kits, tarps, blankets and clothes as well as food and sanitation items across Gaza, stated the UN office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs.

The majority of the population live in improvised tents since their homes were turned into ruins during the hostilities. Aid groups say not enough building supplies are entering Gaza during the truce.

Casualty Figures After the Truce

Local health authorities, part of the administration, reports over four hundred and forty people have been killed by Israeli fire and their bodies brought to hospitals after the truce went into effect. The ministry maintains comprehensive casualty records that are considered generally reliable by UN agencies and outside analysts.

A spokesperson for UNICEF, representing the UN children's fund, stated on that day that no fewer than 100 children below eighteen years old – sixty males and 40 girls – had been killed since the truce started because of armed actions, including drone strikes, air raids, artillery fire and use of bullets. These numbers, he said, represented cases where sufficient information had been gathered to justify documentation, but the total toll is expected to be higher. He noted that many hundreds of minors had been wounded.

"While 'bombings and gunfire have slowed' during the ceasefire, they have not ceased," Elder informed reporters at a press conference in Geneva by video link from Gaza City. "So what the international community now calls calm would be viewed as a catastrophe anywhere else," he said.

Another Cold Season of Hardship

Gaza’s residents of over 2 million people has been struggling to keep the freezing temperatures and bad weather at bay while facing lack of assistance and a absence of more substantial temporary housing, which is urgently needed during the colder season. It’s the 3rd winter after the conflict between Israel and the group began on 7 October 2023, when militants stormed into southern Israel and killed approximately twelve hundred individuals and took hostage 251 more into Gaza.

Gaza’s health ministry reports over 71,400 Palestinians have been fatally injured in Israel’s military campaign.