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Strong cold-season winds caused walls to collapse upon flimsy shelters housing Palestinians displaced by war in Gaza, killing no fewer than 4 people. These deaths highlights the perilous living conditions that continue after more than 24 months of intense bombardment and critical shortages of humanitarian assistance.

Ceasefire Provides No Respite from Harsh Elements

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

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

Separately, the Gaza health ministry stated on the same day that a 12-month-old infant died of extreme cold during the night.

"International actors has allowed us to witness loss of life in every possible way," stated Bassel Hamouda after the burial. "While it is correct the bombing may have temporarily stopped, but we have witnessed all imaginable reasons of death in the world in the Gaza Strip."

Family Buried in Shelter Collapse

As per Shifa hospital, three members of a one household — elderly a man, his 15-year-old relative, and his son's wife — were fatally injured when an 26-foot tall wall collapsed onto their tent in a coastal area of Gaza City. At least five others were injured in the event.

Family members on Tuesday began removing the rubble that had buried their loved ones and reconstructing the temporary homes for those who remained.

Humanitarian Efforts and Ongoing Crisis

United Nations agencies and its humanitarian partners were distributing tents, tarps, warm covers and clothing as well as nutrition and hygiene supplies throughout Gaza, stated the UN office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs.

The majority of the population live in improvised shelters because their homes were turned into ruins during the hostilities. Humanitarian organizations say an insufficient amount of building supplies are entering Gaza during the truce.

Fatality Numbers After the Truce

The Gaza health ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, reports over 440 people have been fatally shot by Israeli fire and their remains taken to hospitals since the ceasefire began. The ministry keeps detailed casualty data that are seen as largely accurate by international bodies and independent experts.

A spokesperson for UNICEF, representing the UN children’s agency Unicef, said on Tuesday that no fewer than 100 children under the age of 18 – sixty boys and 40 females – had been killed after the truce began because of military operations, including drone strikes, air raids, artillery fire and use of bullets. These numbers, he said, reflected cases where enough information had been compiled to warrant recording, but the total toll is believed to be greater. He noted that hundreds of minors had been wounded.

"While 'bombings and gunfire have decreased' during the ceasefire, they have not stopped," Elder informed reporters at a UN briefing in the Swiss city by video from Gaza City. "Therefore what the international community now calls calm would be viewed as a catastrophe in any other place," he said.

Another Cold Season of Struggle

Gaza’s population of over two million individuals has been fighting to fend off the cold weather and bad weather away while enduring shortages of assistance and a lack of more substantial temporary housing, which is badly required throughout the colder season. This marks the third cold season after the war involving the state and the group started on 7 October 2023, when fighters attacked southern Israel and murdered approximately 1,200 individuals and abducted two hundred and fifty-one more into Gaza.

The local health authority reports over 71,400 people have been killed in Israel’s military campaign.