UN Spokesperson Warns of 'Extremely Alarming' Humanitarian Conditions for Gaza's Children

The spokesperson for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Jonathan Crickx, warned of extremely alarming humanitarian conditions faced by children in the Gaza Strip, amid the low-pressure weather system and poor weather conditions, emphasizing that the scale of needs is extremely large.

Crickx confirmed that the real need lies in fully rebuilding homes using concrete for those living in tents, stressing the necessity of providing suitable shelter that preserves the dignity of Gazans and their children.

He added that the heavy rains cause water to enter the tents, exposing children to greater risks of illness and its spread.

In this context, he reported that hundreds of displaced people's tents have been flooded with the renewed heavy rains on the Palestinian sector, which is besieged by the Israeli occupation and where more than half its area is occupied after two years of genocide war.

He explained that the situation of the displaced in the sector is worsening amid the deep low-pressure system, heavy rains, and strong winds, describing the situation as catastrophic.

On the sidelines of his visit to Gaza City today, the UN spokesperson in Palestine said he saw barefoot children completely soaked in cold weather and low temperatures, noting that most of these children live inside tents under extremely difficult living conditions.

According to the spokesperson, these children suffer from cold symptoms, in addition to major difficulties related to personal hygiene, as they cannot bathe, describing the scene as extremely saddening.

He pointed out that while on the coastal road, he saw tents uprooted by the winds, at a time when families and their children were trying to hold onto them, considering that this makes the situation extremely alarming.

According to Crickx, his visit to Gaza came as part of UNICEF distributing winter clothes to try to keep children warm, including jackets, shoes, hats, and gloves.

However, he emphasized that the scale of needs far exceeds what has been provided, given the large number of children living in tents and the destruction of most buildings, confirming the need to double the quantities of warm clothing and deliver more aid.

He also said that UNICEF's efforts are not limited to distributing winter clothes, noting that the organization has also distributed 600,000 blankets, 7,000 tents, in addition to protective plastic sheets, but he acknowledged that these quantities are not sufficient given the scale of needs and the difficulty of the task under current conditions.

Several areas in Gaza have witnessed the flooding of hundreds of tents due to rainfall over the past few days, and displaced people in the tents lived in a tragic situation due to the incapacity and lack of means of the civil defense.

The Government Media Office in Gaza said that 12 people have died or are missing due to bad weather conditions in recent days, and that at least 13 buildings have collapsed, and 27,000 tents have been flooded.