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Strong cold-season gusts brought walls down upon fragile tents sheltering Palestinians uprooted by conflict in Gaza, killing no fewer than four people. These deaths underscores the perilous situation that persist after more than two years of intense bombardment and severe lack of humanitarian assistance.

Truce Provides Little Relief from Harsh Weather

Although a truce has been active from last fall, aid groups report that Palestinians do not have the adequate shelter necessary to withstand frequent cold-weather events.

Officials at Gaza City's largest medical facility, which took in the victims, reported on this week that the deceased include two women, 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 during the night.

"The world has allowed us to experience loss of life in all its forms," stated Bassel Hamouda after the funeral. "While it is correct the bombing may have paused for now, but we have seen every conceivable cause of death in the world in the Gaza Strip."

Relatives Buried in Tent Collapse

According to the medical center, 3 people of a one household — elderly a man, his teenage relative, and his daughter-in-law — were killed when an 26-foot high wall collapsed on top of their dwelling in a area near the sea of Gaza City. At least 5 others were hurt in the incident.

Family members on Tuesday began removing the rubble that had buried their family and rebuilding the temporary homes for survivors.

Humanitarian Efforts and Ongoing Emergency

The UN and its humanitarian partners were handing out shelter kits, tarps, blankets and clothing as well as food and sanitation supplies across Gaza, stated the relevant UN coordination body.

Most of the population reside in improvised shelters because their houses were reduced to ruins during the hostilities. Humanitarian organizations contend an insufficient amount of building supplies are entering Gaza during the truce.

Casualty Figures Since 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 since the ceasefire began. The ministry keeps detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by international bodies and independent experts.

A spokesperson for UNICEF, spokesperson for the UN children’s agency Unicef, stated on that day that at least 100 minors under the age of 18 – sixty males and 40 girls – had been lost their lives since the truce started due to military operations, including unmanned aerial vehicle attacks, airstrikes, tank shelling and use of live ammunition. These numbers, he explained, reflected incidents where sufficient information had been compiled to justify documentation, but the overall count is believed to be higher. He noted that hundreds of children had been wounded.

"While 'explosions and gunfire have slowed' under the truce, they have not stopped," the spokesperson informed reporters at a UN briefing in Geneva by video from Gaza City. "Therefore what the world now terms quiet would be viewed as a crisis anywhere else," he said.

Third Cold Season of Struggle

Gaza’s residents of over two million people has been fighting to fend off the cold weather and storms away while facing shortages of assistance and a lack of more substantial temporary housing, which is urgently required throughout the winter months. This marks the third winter since the conflict involving Israel and the group started on 7 October 2023, when militants attacked southern Israel and murdered approximately twelve hundred individuals and abducted two hundred and fifty-one more into Gaza.

Gaza’s health ministry reports more than 71,400 people have been fatally injured in Israel’s retaliatory offensive.