235,000 Palestinians affected by ‘man-made’ consequences of winter in Gaza: UNRWA chief

At least 235,000 people have been affected by a "man-made" crisis in Gaza after low-pressure weather systems hit the war-ravaged enclave, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said Monday.

"Months of war and displacement forced people in Gaza to live amid collapsing ruins in makeshift shelters or in flimsy tents," UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said on the US social media company X.

"While Storm Byron that struck Gaza on December 10 was a natural hazard, its consequences are man-made," Lazzarini stressed.

Heavy rains and strong winds triggered by low-pressure weather systems caused the collapse of 17 buildings and the full or partial damage of more than 42,000 tents or makeshift shelters and affected at least 235,000 people between Dec. 10 and 17, Lazzarini said, citing data by the Shelter Cluster in Gaza.

A new wave of weather depression has been battering Gaza since the weekend, causing the death of two people and the uprooting of tens of thousands of tents, according to civil defense.

Weather conditions pose great danger to displaced Palestinians who are living in worn-out tents or severely damaged high-risk buildings, which have been under repeated Israeli strikes since October 2023.

The Israeli army has killed more than 71,200 people, mostly women and children, and injured over 171,200 others since October 2023 in Gaza in a brutal assault that also left the enclave in ruins.

Despite a ceasefire that took effect in Gaza on Oct. 10, Israel still closes the territory's crossings and prevents the entry of mobile homes and reconstruction materials, worsening the plight of nearly 2.4 million people in the enclave.