Gaza Winter Emergency Committee: Israel Blocks Shelter Supplies and Misleads World with Claims of Facilitated Aid

The government Winter Emergency Committee in the Gaza Strip has said that claims by the office of Israel’s prime minister about coordination to prepare for winter and facilitate the entry of humanitarian supplies are aimed at misleading international public opinion and evading legal and moral responsibility for the suffering of displaced people.

In a press statement on Wednesday, the committee said the facts on the ground expose the falsity of Israel’s claims, as it continues to block the entry of basic supplies needed to cope with weather depressions, including rain-resistant tents, thermal insulation materials and water drainage pumps, along with civil defence and municipal equipment.

It explained that the continuation of these restrictions compounds the suffering of hundreds of thousands of displaced people living in dilapidated tents that offer no minimum protection and are damaged and collapse when the rain falls, amid deteriorating humanitarian conditions and the intensifying impact of weather depressions.

It added that Israel allows only limited quantities of supplies to enter that do not meet the actual needs of the population, considering that exploiting the displaced people’s need for shelter and shelter materials amounts to a means of pressure and blackmail and an attempt to polish its image before the international community.

The committee called on the international community and the United Nations to exert serious pressure on Israel to open the crossings immediately and ensure the entry of fuel, shelter supplies and emergency equipment, warning of an imminent environmental and health catastrophe as displaced people continue to be denied the essentials of protection from winter.