Gaza rains kill 3 children and their mother...and UNICEF warns of a harsh winter

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) warned of the worsening humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip with heavy rains and the approaching winter, noting that three children and their mother were killed after sand dunes collapsed on their tent in Deir al-Balah in the center of the Strip, over the weekend. UNICEF said in a statement on Monday that the children who died were between 4 and 8 years old, and that the heavy rains directly affected more than 106,000 people, and caused the destruction or damage of shelters, latrines, and belongings.

The organization added that about 950,000 displaced people live in areas vulnerable to floods, including 400,000 people who face very high levels of risk, about half of whom are children. “These children and their mother were killed because they had no safe place to stay,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.

Families live without the most basic conditions necessary to maintain their safety, health and dignity.” Russell warned of the possibility of more children dying in the absence of adequate shelter, functioning water and sanitation systems, and equipment necessary to restore basic services, adding: “The most severe period of the winter has not yet arrived.”

These deaths come as families exhausted by war and the extended humanitarian crisis prepare to face a fourth winter in extremely harsh conditions. About 1.7 million displaced people are still living in tents, improvised shelters, or damaged buildings, vulnerable to floods, hail, and collapse, according to UNICEF.

UNICEF explained that the floods resulting from heavy rains exacerbate the sanitation crisis caused by the war, noting that there is currently no functional facility for treating wastewater in the Strip. In Gaza City, the organization warned of the risk of overflow of rainwater mixed with sewage from the rainwater collection basin in the Sheikh Radwan area, where only two out of six pumps are working.

She added that she has been seeking for more than a year to obtain approval from the Israeli authorities to bring in the necessary equipment to repair the facility. The cold also represents an additional threat to the lives of residents, especially newborns.

UNICEF stated that 11 children were reported to have died due to hypothermia during the past winter, warning that the deterioration of conditions and the lack of appropriate protection may lead to the death of more children as the cold intensifies. As part of responding to the emergency situation, the organization said that it is working with its partners to distribute tarpaulins, winter clothes, blankets, and hygiene supplies, in addition to cleaning blocked sewers and rainwater collection basins, and installing sandbags to reduce the effects of floods.

She added that during the past week alone, it reached at least 10,000 children with winter clothes and thermal blankets, distributed tarpaulins to families whose tents were flooded, and removed sewage and rainwater from more than 50 sites. However, the organization stressed that these emergency interventions do not represent a long-term solution, explaining that tents and tarpaulins provide only limited protection from severe storms, while the damaged water and sanitation systems continue to pose a threat to children’s health and lives.

UNICEF sent an urgent appeal to the Israeli authorities to allow the entry of pumps, electric generators, spare parts and other equipment necessary to repair water and sanitation infrastructure, including the rainwater collection in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood and the Sheikh Ajlin wastewater treatment plant. The organization also called on the international community to demand the entry of all life-saving humanitarian equipment and supplies, and to provide urgent funding for the winter response in Gaza, which is managed by UNICEF and costs $97.5 million.