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Powerful winter winds brought walls down upon flimsy tents housing people displaced by conflict in Gaza, claiming the lives of at least 4 people. This tragedy underscores the perilous living conditions that continue after over 24 months of intense bombardment and severe lack of humanitarian assistance.

Truce Provides No Relief from Severe Elements

Although a truce has been active from last fall, humanitarian organizations report that Palestinians do not have the sufficient housing required to withstand frequent winter storms.

Medical staff at Shifa hospital, which received the bodies, reported on Tuesday that the dead were two women, a young female, and a male adult.

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

"The world has allowed us to witness death in all its forms," stated Bassel Hamouda after the funeral. "It’s true the bombing may have paused for now, but we have witnessed all imaginable reasons of fatality in the world in the Gaza Strip."

Relatives Buried in Shelter Collapse

As per the medical center, three members of a one family — 72-year-old a man, his teenage relative, and his son's wife — were killed when an eight-metre tall wall fell onto their dwelling in a area near the sea of Gaza City. At least five others were hurt in the event.

Family members on Tuesday began clearing the rubble that had buried their family and reconstructing the temporary homes for survivors.

Humanitarian Efforts and Continuing Crisis

The UN and its aid organization allies were handing out tents, tarps, blankets and clothing as well as nutrition and sanitation supplies throughout Gaza, stated the relevant UN coordination body.

The majority of the population live in makeshift shelters since their houses were turned into ruins during the hostilities. Humanitarian organizations say not enough shelter materials are entering Gaza during the truce.

Fatality Numbers After the Truce

Local health authorities, part of the Hamas-run government, reports over 440 people have been killed by Israeli fire and their bodies brought to hospitals after the ceasefire went into effect. The ministry maintains comprehensive casualty records that are considered largely accurate by international bodies and independent experts.

A spokesperson for UNICEF, spokesperson for the UN children's fund, stated on Tuesday that at least one hundred children below eighteen years old – sixty males and forty girls – had been lost their lives since the ceasefire started due to military operations, including drone strikes, airstrikes, tank shelling and use of live ammunition. Those figures, he explained, reflected incidents where sufficient details had been compiled to justify recording, but the total toll is believed to be greater. He added that many hundreds of minors had been wounded.

"While 'bombings and shootings have slowed' under the truce, they have not stopped," the spokesperson told reporters at a press conference in Geneva by video link from Gaza City. "Therefore what the world now calls calm would be viewed as a crisis anywhere else," he concluded.

Third Cold Season of Hardship

Gaza’s population of more than two million people has been struggling to fend off the freezing temperatures and bad weather at bay while enduring shortages of humanitarian aid and a absence of more substantial temporary housing, which is badly needed throughout the colder season. This marks the third cold season after the conflict between Israel and Hamas began on 7 October 2023, when militants attacked southern Israel and killed around twelve hundred individuals and abducted 251 others into Gaza.

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