This has caused casualties and disrupted aid operations over the past 24 hours, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters at Headquarters in New York.
Yet efforts to provide assistance to the most vulnerable families continue during the cold and wet winter season, although a rescue mission to reach an injured person in Gaza City was turned away.
Lack of shelter
“Faced with a severe lack of shelter in the Gaza Strip, people remain in partially or largely damaged buildings as they try to protect their families from the elements,” he said.
Several buildings collapsed over the weekend due to stormy conditions, causing casualties, according to humanitarian partners.
Additionally, three-quarters of female-headed households are in urgent need of shelter, and two-thirds are in desperate need of clothing.
Dujarric said UN partners continue to work to improve access to dignified shelter for the estimated 1.3 million people in Gaza.
Lift restrictions on entry of aid
Over the past week, some 3,500 families affected by storms or living in flood-prone areas have received tents, bedding sets, mattresses and blankets, while more than 250,000 children have received winter clothing.
“However, our partners estimate that 630,000 adolescents across the Gaza Strip still need assistance with winter clothing,” he added.
“We and our partners are once again calling for the lifting of all restrictions on the entry of aid into Gaza, including shelter materials, as these constraints obviously hamper humanitarian efforts to reach populations, particularly in this winter and cold season. »
Meanwhile, humanitarians continue to coordinate aid missions in Gaza, and half of the attempts Sunday were facilitated by Israeli authorities.
Teams collected six tanker trucks full of fuel, more than 270 pallets of medical supplies and other essential food items from the Kerem Shalom/Karem Abu Salem crossing, as well as the Zikim crossing.
Originally published at Almouwatin.com
