Gaza, January 11 (QNA) - The Government Media Office in Gaza warned of catastrophic humanitarian consequences resulting from severe cold waves sweeping the Gaza Strip, amid the ongoing genocide and suffocating blockade, which have caused widespread destruction of homes and infrastructure and the forced displacement of more than 1.5 million Palestinians into displacement camps lacking the most basic requirements of human life.
In a press statement issued on Sunday, the office announced that the death toll from extreme cold in forced displacement camps has risen to 21 martyrs since the start of the genocide, warning of further catastrophic consequences as additional weather depressions approach.
It stated that, according to documented field data, the number of deaths caused by extreme cold since the beginning of the genocide has reached 21 martyrs to date, all of whom were displaced persons living in forced shelter camps, including 18 children, an alarming indicator of the scale of the humanitarian catastrophe threatening the lives of the most vulnerable groups.
The office also reported that four deaths due to cold have been recorded since the beginning of the winter season, amid the absence of heating means, the lack of safe shelter, shortages of blankets and winter clothing, and the continued obstruction of sufficient humanitarian aid from entering the Gaza Strip.
It warned of the repercussions of the upcoming weather depression and subsequent systems, accompanied by frost and severe cold in the coming days, which could lead to a further rise in the number of victims, particularly among children, the sick, and the elderly, if this catastrophic humanitarian reality continues without urgent intervention.
The Government Media Office held the occupation forces fully and directly responsible for these crimes and their deadly consequences, describing them as an extension of policies of slow killing, starvation, and forced displacement. It called on the international community, the United Nations, and humanitarian and human rights organizations to take immediate and urgent action to provide safe shelter centers, allow the unrestricted entry of heating and relief supplies, and save what remains of lives before it is too late.
Residents of the Gaza Strip, especially displaced people living in tents, have been facing a grave humanitarian disaster since the war of genocide on Gaza, amid the absence of shelter supplies, the occupation's prevention of their entry, and the severe deterioration of living conditions. This has forced many to take refuge in damaged and structurally unsafe homes as a result of bombardment, despite official warnings and repeated calls to evacuate such buildings due to the danger they pose to residents' lives. (QNA)