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Powerful winter winds caused walls to collapse upon flimsy tents sheltering Palestinians displaced by war in Gaza, claiming the lives of at least 4 individuals. These deaths highlights the dangerous situation that persist after more than 24 months of intense airstrikes and severe lack of aid.

Ceasefire Offers Little Relief from Severe Elements

Although a truce has been active since last fall, humanitarian organizations state that Palestinians do not have the adequate housing required to withstand recurring cold-weather events.

Medical staff at Shifa hospital, which received the victims, said on this week that the deceased were two women, a girl, and a male adult.

In a separate incident, the local health authority announced on Tuesday that a one-year-old boy died of extreme cold during the night.

"The world has allowed us to witness loss of life in all its forms," said a family member after the burial. "While it is correct the bombing may have temporarily stopped, but we have seen every conceivable cause of death in the world in the Gaza Strip."

Family Crushed in Shelter Collapse

According to the medical center, three members of a one family — elderly Mohamed Hamouda, his 15-year-old granddaughter, and his daughter-in-law — were fatally injured when an 26-foot high wall fell onto their dwelling in a coastal area of the city. No fewer than five additional people were injured in the incident.

Family members on Tuesday started clearing the rubble that had buried their family and rebuilding the tent shelters for those who remained.

Aid Efforts and Ongoing Crisis

The UN and its humanitarian partners were distributing tents, tarps, warm covers and clothes as well as food and hygiene supplies throughout Gaza, said the relevant UN coordination body.

Most of the population reside in makeshift tents since their homes were reduced to ruins over the course of the hostilities. Aid groups contend not enough shelter materials are reaching Gaza during the truce.

Casualty Numbers After the Truce

Local health authorities, part of the administration, says more than 440 individuals have been killed by Israeli fire and their bodies taken to hospitals after the truce began. The authority maintains comprehensive casualty data that are considered generally reliable by international bodies and outside analysts.

James Elder, spokesperson for the UN children’s agency Unicef, said on that day that no fewer than one hundred minors below eighteen years old – 60 males and forty females – had been lost their lives after the ceasefire started due to armed actions, such as drone strikes, airstrikes, artillery fire and employment of live ammunition. These numbers, he said, represented incidents where enough information had been compiled to warrant documentation, but the overall count is expected to be higher. He noted that hundreds of minors had been wounded.

"While 'explosions and shootings have decreased' during the ceasefire, they have not ceased," the spokesperson told reporters at a UN briefing in Geneva by video from Gaza City. "Therefore what the world now terms quiet would be viewed as a crisis in any other place," he concluded.

Third Winter of Struggle

Gaza’s residents of more than 2 million people has been fighting to fend off the cold weather and bad weather at bay while enduring lack of humanitarian aid and a lack of more substantial temporary housing, which is badly required throughout the winter months. This marks the third winter since the war involving the state and Hamas started on a date in late 2023, when militants attacked southern Israel and killed around 1,200 people and took hostage two hundred and fifty-one more into Gaza.

Gaza’s health ministry says more than 71,400 people have been fatally injured in Israel’s military campaign.