Harsh winter awaits Gaza's displaced
As winter draws closer, displaced families in the Gaza Strip are still waiting for reconstruction to begin on their homes.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Umm Raed al-Abadla hangs her children’s clothes on a rope she tied between two trees in front of her family's tent. The family has been residing here, outside Gaza's Shifa Hospital, ever since they fled their home on the Abed Rabbo farm, which was destroyed by Israeli artillery, along with hundreds of others during the recent conflict.
The hardship and homelessness caused by the displacement seem to have left their mark on Umm Raed. “This tent is made from pieces of worn cloth, and is our only shield from the heat of the sun, but what we are really afraid of is that winter will soon arrive and we have no safe home,” she told Al-Monitor.
She fears her eight-member family will be exposed to bitter cold and rain, which will turn their lives into an unbearable hell, noting that her family cannot afford to rent an apartment due to high prices, demand and landlords exploiting the situation.
According to a statement by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), around 60,000 housing units were damaged during the war on Gaza, of which 20,000 became uninhabitable. UNRWA stressed the need to provide financial support to ensure alternative housing for the displaced before the start of winter.
