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Cold, rainy weather making war-wracked Gaza ‘completely uninhabitable’

January 28, 2024

A displaced Palestinian uses a bucket to clear water from a tent drenched by heavy rain, at a makeshift camp in Rafah, southern Gaza [AFP]

Relentless Israeli attacks against infrastructure in Gaza and cold weather are making the Palestinian enclave “completely uninhabitable”, the United Nations human rights office (OHCHR) has warned.

“I fear that many more civilians will die,” Ajith Sunghay, the head of the OHCHR for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, said on Friday.

“The continued attacks on specially protected facilities, such as hospitals, will kill civilians, and there will be a further, massive impact on access to health care, safety and security in general of Palestinians.”

Sunghay said his office was also “very worried about the impact of the rainy, cold weather” which was “entirely predictable” at this time of the year.

He said the weather “risks making an already unsanitary situation completely uninhabitable for the people. Most have no warm clothes or blankets”.

Most Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have been internally displaced by Israeli attacks, and many are crammed into overcrowded shelters where they are threatened by the worsening weather, diseases and an acute shortages of food, water and medicine.

Sunghay said it would be “disastrous” if the bombardment or the street-to-street fight taking place in Khan Younis moved further south to Rafah, where some 1.3 million people are now massed in the town bordering Egypt in an attempt to evade the Israeli assault.

Meanwhile, Georgios Petropoulos, the director of the UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs in Gaza, told Al Jazeera the months-long war has left 2.2 million people at risk of starvation in the Strip.

“Everyone in Gaza needs aid now and the war must stop,” he said.

A displaced Palestinian woman stands at the entrance of a tent flooded by heavy rain, at a makeshift camp set up by people who fled the ongoing battles between Israel and Hamas militants, in Rafah — A displaced Palestinian woman stands at the entrance of a tent flooded by heavy rain in Gaza. [AFP]

Children spend their time in front of makeshift tents during the cold weather as Palestinians, who left their homes, take shelter in the city of Rafah to protect themselves from Israeli bombardment — Children spend their time in front of makeshift tents during the cold weather as Palestinians who fled their homes take shelter in the city of Rafah. [Abed Zagout/Anadolu Agency]

A woman helps a man to lay down on a bed in a makeshift tent during the cold weather as Palestinians, who left their homes, take shelter in the city of Rafah to protect themselves from Israeli bombardment in Rafah — A woman helps a man lay down on a bed in a makeshift camp where they took refuge after fleeing their homes. [Abed Zagout/Anadolu Agency]

A view of a makeshift tent where Palestinians, who left their homes to protect themselves from Israeli bombardment, stay during the cold weather as they struggle with hard living conditions in Rafah — A view of a makeshift tent where Palestinians who left their homes to protect themselves from Israeli bombardment have taken refuge. [Abed Zagout/Anadolu Agency]

A man transports a gas canister on a bicycle on a rainy day in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on January 27 — A man transports a gas canister on a bicycle on a rainy day in Rafah. [AFP]

Displaced Palestinian children stand amid tents flooded by heavy rain, at a makeshift camp set up by people who fled the ongoing battles between Israel and Hamas militants, in Rafah — Displaced Palestinian children in Gaza stand amid tents flooded by heavy rain. [AFP]

A rainbow appears over Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, following heavy rainfall on January 27 — A rainbow appears over Rafah. [AFP]

A displaced Palestinian man helps a woman to find her way amid tents flooded by heavy rain, at a makeshift camp set up by people who fled the ongoing battles between Israel and Hamas militants, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on January 27 — A Palestinian man helps a woman find her way between tents flooded by heavy rain. [AFP]

A displaced Palestinian uses a bucket to clear water from a tent drenched by heavy rain, at a makeshift camp in Rafah — A displaced Palestinian clears water from a tent drenched by heavy rain. [AFP]

A woman prepares bread in a makeshift tent where Palestinians, who left their homes to protect themselves from Israeli bombardment, stay during the cold weather as they struggle with hard living conditions in Rafah — A woman prepares bread in a makeshift tent in Gaza. [Abed Zagout/Anadolu Agency]

Displaced Palestinians try to warm up around a fire amid tents flooded by heavy rain, at a makeshift camp in Rafah — Displaced Palestinians try to warm up around a fire in the middle of cold and heavy rain. [AFP]

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