AI Brief
- The UN warns that displaced families in Gaza face flooding and unsafe shelter as winter approaches, with aid reaching less than a fifth of those in need.
- Humanitarian teams identified flood risks at multiple sites, with some families living in areas vulnerable to rain, sewage, and ground erosion.
- Funding shortages and restrictions on goods entering Gaza are hindering preparations, while families report inadequate food, hygiene, and sanitation facilities.
THE UN warned on Tuesday (October 20) that displaced families in Gaza face flooding and unsafe shelter as winter approaches, with supplies sufficient to partially support fewer than a fifth of nearly 300,000 families in desperate need.
UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said humanitarian teams assessed sites hosting more than 650 families in Khan Younis, including 160 living in a low-lying pit at risk of flooding from rain and sewage.
Families said they had nowhere better to go, despite flooding there last winter. Aid workers were helping those at especially high risk move voluntarily to safer ground.
Assessments on Monday (October 19) identified flood risks at five other sites and concerns that erosion could cause the ground beneath tents at a sixth location to collapse.
Dujarric said funding shortages and restrictions on goods entering Gaza were hampering preparations, including drainage clearance, sandbagging and ground-leveling. Families also reported inadequate food, hygiene supplies and sanitation facilities.
