As winter approaches, humanitarian agencies warn that children and families in Gaza are facing additional threats from damaged housing, overcrowded displacement sites and harsh weather conditions, while rescue efforts following a recent building collapse highlight the continuing difficulties of providing emergency assistance.
Vatican News
UNICEF has launched an appeal for US$97.5 million to support some 540,000 children and their families across the Gaza Strip and the West Bank during the coming winter. The United Nations Children’s Fund said families are expected to face freezing temperatures, heavy rains, flooding and other potentially life-threatening conditions.
In Gaza, nearly 84 per cent of the population — more than 1.76 million people — remain in overcrowded displacement sites or damaged and inadequate shelters, according to UNICEF. Such conditions leave families with limited protection from cold weather and rainfall.
The risks are particularly acute for children. Infants, toddlers and children with chronic health conditions are more vulnerable to hypothermia, respiratory infections, waterborne diseases and other illnesses associated with exposure to cold and inadequate living conditions.
UNICEF said that at least 11 children, including infants, reportedly died from hypothermia in the Gaza Strip during the previous winter. The agency stressed that timely assistance could help prevent further deaths and illness.
“For hundreds of thousands of children, winter is not just a seasonal hardship; the winter months pose an additional threat to their survival, safety, and well-being,” said Jonathan Veitch, UNICEF Special Representative in the State of Palestine.
Children killed in collapse of war-damaged building
The warning comes as rescue operations continue to face major obstacles in Gaza. Children were reportedly among those killed or reported missing following the collapse of a war-damaged residential building in Gaza City this week. Rescue efforts were hampered by a lack of heavy machinery and other equipment needed to search through the rubble.
The collapse highlights the dangers facing families living in buildings damaged during the conflict, while the shortage of rescue equipment limits the capacity to respond when structures fail.
Vulnerable families in the West Bank
UNICEF’s appeal also covers the West Bank, where violence, displacement, movement restrictions and a deepening financial crisis are affecting vulnerable families’ ability to prepare for winter. The agency warned that these pressures are leaving children increasingly exposed to harsh conditions.
Thus, UNICEF is calling for funding to provide winter assistance to children and families, with the aim of reducing exposure to cold and preventing illnesses and deaths during the coming months, at a time when damaged infrastructure, displacement and inadequate shelter compound existing humanitarian needs.
