Gaza Herald – UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini warned that Gaza’s humanitarian catastrophe is worsening rapidly as severe winter storms flood displacement camps and leave families who have already lost everything facing a new wave of suffering under Israel’s ongoing genocide.
Lazzarini said displaced families are enduring extreme hardship inside fragile shelters, where heavy rain and strong winds are causing flooding, structural damage, and serious health threats. He stressed that thousands of families are exposed to cold, contaminated water, and disease, with no adequate protection or safe shelter.
Despite being displaced themselves, UNRWA teams continue working under dangerous conditions, pumping floodwater and sewage, clearing waste, distributing plastic sheeting, winter clothing, and blankets, and providing medical care wherever possible, Lazzarini said.
Gaza has been battered by a powerful weather system since Wednesday, flooding thousands of tents across multiple displacement sites. Palestinian Civil Defense reported receiving more than 2,500 distress calls in 24 hours, as violent winds and heavy rain damaged, swept away, or submerged shelters, deepening the suffering of tens of thousands of Palestinians already stripped of homes, security, and basic survival conditions under genocide.
