Children in Gaza face a fourth winter of hardship in flooded tents, with a growing risk of deaths from hypothermia and a major disease outbreak, a UNICEF spokesperson said.
James Elder said the warnings have become an annual ritual. “We know what needs to be done. We know which materials need to come in,” he told Anadolu Agency, adding that the construction supplies needed remain banned by Israeli authorities. The cold and flooding have arrived before winter has fully begun, he said, despite a cease-fire that has not ended Israeli attacks and a blockade on the territory.
Elder said water treatment plants need repairs and that UNICEF has planned the work, raised funds, completed engineering studies and prepared materials. A year ago, he said, UNICEF agreed with officials, engineers and the Gaza Board of Peace on a plan to rebuild a major facility that would prevent sewage overflows, but the plan was later abruptly rejected.
“If we are not allowed to rebuild water treatment plants and sewage systems and get families out of tents, we will see more children die of hypothermia and could face a terrible disease outbreak,” Elder said. If more rain falls and sewage begins flowing through the cities, he said, control could be lost.
He said the physical and psychological exhaustion of families is causing immune systems to begin collapsing. Gaza is probably experiencing one of its wettest winters, he said.
Elder renewed two appeals to the international community: that governments use their influence with Israel to ensure humanitarian law is respected and that needed materials are allowed in, and that donors provide funding. UNICEF is facing a funding crisis, he said.
