Initial United Nations estimates indicate that more than 200,000 people in the besieged Gaza Strip have been affected by rainfall over the weekend and are in need of humanitarian assistance. The UN said it continues to support residents in cooperation with its humanitarian partners.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) referred to reports indicating that, as of Monday, more than 40,000 shelters, over 900 toilets and nine healthcare facilities had been damaged.
Site management partners and other organizations warned that their capacity to provide timely assistance is limited, leaving many people in extremely poor living conditions.
As of Tuesday, the UN’s Rapid Response Mechanism had reached approximately 750 families, or around 4,500 people.
The assistance included tents, tarpaulins, covers, plastic sheeting, mattresses, essential food parcels, water containers and hygiene kits.
Meanwhile, water and sanitation officials deployed heavy machinery, from the extremely limited equipment available inside Gaza, to 25 displacement sites. This enabled teams to pump out floodwater, clear drainage channels and level the ground.
UN partners also identified 245 shelter sites and 23 roadside locations requiring urgent intervention using heavy machinery, most of them in Gaza and North Gaza governorates.
Earlier on Tuesday, one UN partner demolished an unsafe building in Gaza City after ten families voluntarily evacuated it. The families were provided with essential shelter, water and sanitation assistance at alternative locations.
Other partners also cleared blocked sewage lines, inspection chambers and stormwater drainage basins at 60 locations, benefiting approximately 30,000 families.
In the area of child protection, service providers distributed winter clothing kits to more than 7,800 children and provided cash assistance to 300 children. Safety awareness activities also reached around 1,700 children and caregivers.
Humanitarian workers say there are not enough places for people living in flood-affected areas or in buildings damaged by the war to relocate to.
This is due to the continued restrictions imposed by the Israeli occupation authorities on Palestinians’ access to areas beyond what is known as the “Yellow Line”, leaving most of Gaza’s territory inaccessible.
Humanitarian partners also stressed the urgent need for funding and Israeli approvals to bring additional heavy machinery into Gaza, as well as engine oil and spare parts, to ensure the continued operation of vehicles, equipment and backup electricity generators.
The United Nations called on all parties with influence to accelerate the entry of shelter materials and other essential humanitarian supplies needed for the winter, stressing that the situation is a matter of life and death.
