Nearly one million displaced Gazans face extreme winter cold: UN

Monitoring Desk GAZA: Nearly one million displaced Palestinians in war-torn Gaza are at risk of extreme cold and rain this winter, the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) warned on Sunday. “Displaced people in Gaza need protection from the rain and cold. Only around 23% of this need has been met, leaving 945,000 people at risk of exposure this winter,” the UN agency said in a statement. “Aid is urgently required to address the overwhelming needs as the crisis deepens.” UNRWA said that Palestinian civilians in the central city of Deir al-Balah and across the enclave “search through the rubble of their destroyed homes, trying to salvage what little remains after an Israeli airstrike.” “As strikes continue, civilian casualties rise, and homes and vital infrastructure are reduced to ruins,” it said. “The human cost of this war is unbearable,” UNRWA said, reiterating its call for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza to prevent further suffering. Israel has launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip that has killed more than 44,700 people, mostly women and children, since Oct. 7, 2023. Last month, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on Gaza. Qatar’s prime minister said that momentum had returned to talks aimed at cementing a truce and hostage exchange deal in Gaza following the election of Donald Trump as US president. “We have sensed, after the election, that the momentum is coming back,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani told the Doha Forum for political dialogue. The Qatari prime minister explained that while there were “some differences” in the approach to an agreement by the outgoing and incoming US administrations, “we didn’t see or recognise any disagreement on the goal itself to end the war”. The Gulf emirate, along with the United States and Egypt, had been involved in months of unsuccessful negotiations for a Gaza truce and hostage release after 14 months of war.