Families call on the International community for metal shelters as severe weather continues to hit Gaza

Families call on the International community for metal shelters as severe weather continues to hit Gaza. [Mohammed Asad/Middle East Monitor]

Families call on the International community for metal shelters as severe weather continues to hit Gaza. [Mohammed Asad/Middle East Monitor]

Families call on the International community for metal shelters as severe weather continues to hit Gaza. [Mohammed Asad/Middle East Monitor]

Families call on the International community for metal shelters as severe weather continues to hit Gaza. [Mohammed Asad/Middle East Monitor]

Families call on the International community for metal shelters as severe weather continues to hit Gaza. [Mohammed Asad/Middle East Monitor]

Families call on the International community for metal shelters as severe weather continues to hit Gaza. [Mohammed Asad/Middle East Monitor]

Families call on the International community for metal shelters as severe weather continues to hit Gaza. [Mohammed Asad/Middle East Monitor]

Families call on the International community for metal shelters as severe weather continues to hit Gaza. [Mohammed Asad/Middle East Monitor]

Palestinians displaced by the recent conflict staged a protest on Wednesday, Dec. 17, in the Al-Shati Refugee Camp, demanding accelerated reconstruction and highlighting severe humanitarian suffering exacerbated by the winter weather, Anadolu reports.

The demonstration, organized by the Shati Refugee Camp Residents Committee, underscored the urgent shelter needs of thousands of families whose homes were destroyed during the two-year Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip.

Protestors criticized the continued closure of border crossings and the blockade on construction materials, stating these policies force families to live in flimsy tents offering no protection from the elements.

Tamer Abu Khalil, a camp resident who lost a leg in an Israeli attack, described his ordeal to Anadolu. “My movement is very difficult. I am in a wheelchair… There is no proper medical care,” he said. “During this rain, they took me out and I didn’t know what to do. I was soaked by the rain and stood helpless, trying to protect the children who were sleeping on the ground.”

Abu Khalil added that temporary caravans provided only a partial solution, as they are not sealed against heavy rain.

Another amputee, Yousef Al-Hassi, spoke of collective trauma. “This winter is unbearable… We are injured, meaning… there is no one you can point to who is not injured in some way. Every household has someone wounded. And you know, winter — for the injured, it is a disaster.”

READ: Gaza Civil Defence continue efforts to recover bodies

Displaced woman Hana Al-Ghandour recounted a night of flooding. “We are staying in tents — and when I say tents, I mean plastic sheets… All night long we were scooping water out… Everything was mud.”

She appealed directly for caravans, stating, “These caravans are not fit for living… We need more than this — what we need are caravans. That is all we are asking for.”

War-torn camp residents called on civil society and international institutions to speed up reconstruction and provide temporary housing, specifically caravans.

The conflict, which began on Oct. 8, 2023, and lasted for two years, resulted in widespread devastation.

According to reports, more than 70,000 Palestinians were killed and over 171,000 were wounded. In the Gaza Strip, where 90% of civilian infrastructure is reported destroyed and an estimated 70 million tonnes of rubble have accumulated, thousands of bodies are believed to remain buried under the debris.