Temporary Housing Donated to Displaced Residents Considered 'Unsuitable for Gaza's Winter'

Numerous tents supplied by several countries to accommodate homeless residents in Gaza offer insufficient protection from downpours and storms, an evaluation prepared by relief professionals in the ravaged region has shown.

Report Contradicts Assertions of Adequate Shelter

The findings challenge assertions that residents in Gaza are being furnished with suitable protection. Severe storms in the last month blew down or weakened thousands of shelters, affecting at least 235,000 people, according to estimates from relief bodies.

"The cloth [of some tents] splits without much force as sewing standards is substandard," the findings noted. "The material is not water-resistant. Other issues involve small windows, weak structure, no flooring, the roof collects water due to the shape of the tent, and no netting for openings."

Detailed Issues Highlighted

Donations from some contributing nations were found lacking. Some were noted for having "non-waterproof light fabric" and a "weak structure," while others were described as "very light" and failing to repel water.

In contrast, shelters supplied by different nations were assessed to have satisfied the standards established by international authorities.

Questions Prompted Over Humanitarian Standards

The findings – based on thousands of responses to a questionnaire and feedback "from agencies on the ground" – prompt new concerns about the standard of assistance being delivered bilaterally to Gaza by specific states.

Since the ceasefire, only a minority of the tents that had reached Gaza were provided by major multilateral aid agencies, according to one humanitarian source.

Market Tents Also Deemed Unsuitable

Residents in Gaza and aid representatives said tents available on the commercial market by for-profit suppliers were also inadequate for Gaza's winter and were prohibitively expensive.

"The structure we live in is falling apart and rain leaks inside," said one displaced resident. "We obtained it from an acquaintance; it is makeshift from wood and tarpaulin. We cannot purchase a new tent due to the high prices, and we have not received any help at all."

Wider Humanitarian Context

Almost all inhabitants of Gaza has been uprooted repeatedly since the hostilities started, and extensive areas of the region have been reduced to rubble.

Numerous people in Gaza believed the ceasefire would allow them to start reconstructing their homes. In reality, the separation of the area and the continued basic needs crisis have rendered this out of reach. Few have the resources to move, most basic items remain in short supply, and fundamental services are practically absent.

Furthermore, aid operations may be increasingly limited as a number of NGOs that conduct services in Gaza are subject to a potential prohibition under new requirements.

Individual Accounts of Hardship

A uprooted woman spoke of living with her loved ones in a solitary, unsanitary room with no windows or proper floor in the remains of an apartment block. She stated fleeing a temporary shelter after hearing explosions near a contested boundary within Gaza.

"We fled when we heard many explosions," she said. "I abandoned all our possessions behind... I know living in a destroyed building during the cold months is exceptionally risky, but we have no other choice."

Sources have noted that 19 people have been killed by structures collapsing after recent rain.

The single change that altered with the start of the truce was the cessation of the shelling; our daily lives remain largely the same, with the same deprivation," concluded another uprooted Palestinian.