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Powerful winter winds caused walls to collapse upon flimsy shelters housing Palestinians displaced by war in Gaza, claiming the lives of at least four people. These deaths underscores the perilous situation that continue after more than 24 months of devastating airstrikes and critical lack of humanitarian assistance.

Truce Provides Little Relief from Harsh Weather

Although a ceasefire has been in effect since last fall, humanitarian organizations state that residents do not have the sufficient shelter necessary to withstand frequent winter storms.

Officials at Shifa hospital, which took in the bodies, reported on this week that the deceased were a pair of adult females, a girl, and a male adult.

Separately, the Gaza health ministry stated on the same day that a one-year-old boy succumbed of extreme cold overnight.

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

Relatives Buried in Shelter Collapse

As per the medical center, three people of a one household — elderly a man, his teenage granddaughter, and his son's wife — were fatally injured when an eight-metre tall wall collapsed on top of their tent in a coastal area of the city. At least 5 additional people were hurt in the event.

Their relatives on that day started removing the rubble that had buried their loved ones and reconstructing the temporary homes for those who remained.

Humanitarian Distribution and Ongoing Emergency

The UN and its aid organization allies were distributing shelter kits, plastic sheeting, warm covers and clothing as well as nutrition and sanitation supplies across Gaza, said the relevant UN coordination body.

Most of the population reside in improvised tents since their houses were turned into rubble over the course of the hostilities. Aid groups say not enough building supplies are reaching Gaza under the truce.

Fatality Numbers Since the Ceasefire

The Gaza health ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government, reports over four hundred and forty people have been fatally shot by Israeli fire and their bodies brought to hospitals since the ceasefire went into effect. The ministry maintains comprehensive fatality records that are considered generally reliable by international bodies and outside analysts.

A spokesperson for UNICEF, spokesperson for the UN children's fund, said on Tuesday that no fewer than 100 children below eighteen years old – 60 males and 40 girls – had been lost their lives after the truce began due to armed actions, such as drone strikes, airstrikes, tank shelling and use of live ammunition. These numbers, he explained, represented cases where enough details had been gathered to warrant recording, but the overall count is believed to be greater. He noted that hundreds of minors had been wounded.

"Although 'explosions and gunfire have slowed' under the ceasefire, they have not stopped," Elder told journalists at a UN briefing in Geneva by video from Gaza City. "Therefore what the international community now calls quiet would be viewed as a crisis in any other place," he said.

Third Winter of Struggle

Gaza’s residents of more than two million individuals has been struggling to fend off the freezing temperatures and storms away while enduring shortages of assistance and a lack of more substantial transitional shelter, which is badly required during the winter months. This marks the third cold season after the conflict involving Israel and the group started on a date in late 2023, when fighters stormed into southern Israel and killed around twelve hundred people and abducted two hundred and fifty-one others into Gaza.

The local health authority reports over seventy-one thousand four hundred Palestinians have been fatally injured in the subsequent retaliatory offensive.