UN warns of shelter needs in Gaza after hypothermia deaths

GENEVA: The UN on Friday decried that infants and others were freezing to death in Gaza, where it said an estimated 945,000 people still need help to shelter from winter conditions.

With children dying of hypothermia, the United Nations’ migration agency said it was deeply alarmed by the “devastating impact” of winter rains and freezing temperatures on displaced Palestinians, which were “adding to the unparallelled humanitarian catastrophe” in the Gaza Strip.

Heavy rains and flooding have overwhelmed displacement sites and makeshift shelters, while families are left exposed to harsh conditions, struggling to repair tents damaged from months of use, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.

“Vulnerable people, including at least seven infants, have died from hypothermia, and these tragic deaths underscore the urgent need for shelter and other help to get to the people of Gaza immediately,” said IOM director general Amy Pope.

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The agency said access constraints had “severely hindered” aid delivery, with only 285,000 people receiving shelter support since last September.

As of mid-December, the Shelter Cluster – a coordination group of UN, international and local humanitarian organisations – estimated that at least 945,000 people still urgently needed winter assistance, IOM said.

There was a dire need, it said, for thermal clothing, blankets and tarpaulins to seal off shelters from the rain and cold.

The IOM said it had more than 1.5 million winter supplies such as tents and bedding kits ready at warehouses.

However, “severe access restrictions prevent them from reaching those in need”.

“The people of Gaza deserve safety, shelter and dignity,” it said.

The IOM called for a ceasefire and unimpeded humanitarian access, along with the release of all hostages.

The war in Gaza was triggered by Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel last year, which resulted in the deaths of 1,208 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Hamas also seized 251 hostages, 96 of whom remain in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.

Israel’s retaliatory response has so far killed more than 45,500 people in Gaza, the majority civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry, figures which the UN considers reliable.