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Strong winter winds brought walls down upon flimsy tents housing Palestinians uprooted by conflict in Gaza, killing no fewer than four individuals. These deaths underscores the dangerous situation that persist after over 24 months of intense airstrikes and severe lack of humanitarian assistance.

Ceasefire Provides No Respite from Harsh Weather

Although a ceasefire has been in effect since October, aid groups report that Palestinians broadly lack the adequate shelter necessary to withstand recurring cold-weather events.

Officials at Gaza City's largest medical facility, which received the bodies, reported on Tuesday that the deceased were two women, a girl, and a male adult.

Separately, the local health authority stated on Tuesday that a one-year-old boy succumbed of hypothermia during the night.

"The world has allowed us to witness death in every possible way," stated a family member following the funeral. "It’s true the bombing may have temporarily stopped, but we have witnessed all imaginable reasons of death in the world in the Gaza Strip."

Family Buried in Shelter Collapse

According to Shifa hospital, three people of a single family — 72-year-old a man, his teenage relative, and his daughter-in-law — were killed when an eight-metre high wall fell on top of their dwelling in a area near the sea of Gaza City. No fewer than five additional people were hurt in the incident.

Their relatives on that day began removing the debris that had entombed their family and rebuilding the tent shelters for survivors.

Aid Distribution and Ongoing Crisis

United Nations agencies and its aid organization allies were handing out tents, plastic sheeting, warm covers and clothing as well as food and hygiene supplies throughout Gaza, stated the relevant UN coordination body.

Most of Palestinians reside in makeshift tents since their houses were turned into ruins over the course of the war. Humanitarian organizations say not enough building supplies are entering Gaza under the ceasefire.

Fatality Numbers Since the Truce

The Gaza health ministry, which is part of the administration, reports more than four hundred and forty individuals have been fatally shot by gunfire and their remains brought to hospitals after the truce went into effect. The ministry maintains detailed fatality records that are considered largely accurate by international bodies and independent experts.

James Elder, representing the UN children’s agency Unicef, stated on Tuesday that no fewer than 100 children below eighteen years old – sixty boys and forty females – had been killed after the ceasefire began due to armed actions, such as drone strikes, air raids, artillery fire and use of bullets. These numbers, he said, represented cases where enough details had been compiled to justify documentation, but the total toll is expected to be higher. He noted that many hundreds of children had been wounded.

"Although 'explosions and gunfire have slowed' under the ceasefire, they have not stopped," Elder told reporters at a UN briefing in the Swiss city by video from the Strip. "Therefore what the international community now calls calm would be viewed as a crisis in any other place," he said.

Third Cold Season of Struggle

Gaza’s population of more than 2 million individuals has been fighting to keep the freezing temperatures and bad weather away while enduring shortages of humanitarian aid and a absence of sturdier transitional shelter, which is urgently needed throughout the winter months. It’s the 3rd winter since the conflict between the state and the group started on 7 October 2023, when fighters stormed into southern Israel and killed approximately 1,200 people and abducted 251 more into Gaza.

The local health authority says over 71,400 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory offensive.