Gaza: Europe and the Arabs
Fourteen Palestinians have died due to heavy rains and freezing temperatures in the Gaza Strip, while more than 15 homes have collapsed since the onset of Storm Beron. Meanwhile, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution demanding that Israel immediately and unconditionally allow humanitarian aid into the Strip.

According to the UN's daily news bulletin, the torrential rains that struck the Gaza Strip have exacerbated the already dire humanitarian situation in displacement camps. Many tents were flooded, and water seeped into temporary shelters, amid warnings of a new wave of winter hardship facing hundreds of thousands of displaced people. The rapid deterioration of conditions in the camps due to the rains is attributed to weak infrastructure, the lack of adequate drainage systems, and the overcrowding of thousands of families in locations ill-equipped to withstand the rain and cold.

Fourteen Palestinians have died as a result of the heavy rains and freezing temperatures in the Gaza Strip, while more than 15 homes have collapsed since the start of Storm Beron. Medical sources in Gaza hospitals reported that 14 people, including six children, died due to the extreme cold. More than 15 homes collapsed in various parts of Gaza City, while displaced people struggled to protect their children from the harsh weather conditions in dilapidated tents with virtually no resources.

According to the European news network Euronews, citing the Gaza Center for Human Rights, 1,700 Palestinians have lost their sight in the Gaza Strip since October 7th, and another 5,000 are at risk of partial or total blindness because they cannot access necessary treatment. In response, Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, stated that more than 140,000 people have been affected by the rains that flooded over 200 displacement sites in the Gaza Strip. He stressed the need to lift restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid and to end the ban on the operations of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). For his part, the spokesperson for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Palestine, Jonathan Crickx, stressed the urgent need to bring more aid into Gaza, calling for increased delivery of clothing and tents and for mobilizing international support to address the worsening humanitarian crisis.