Self-built makeshift shelters for displaced Gazans ‘over-crowded’: UN humanitarian office

By Anadolu staff

ISTANBUL (AA) – Self-built makeshift shelters for Palestinians displaced by a deadly Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip are over-crowded, the UN humanitarian office said Tuesday.

“More than 15 people live in one tent, making the space available per person less than the minimum sphere standards,” the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a statement.

“This exposes IDPs to unhygienic conditions and communicable diseases,” it added.

“The self-built makeshift shelters are constructed from salvaged materials inadequate to withstand current weather conditions,” the UN office warned.

Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7.

At least 23,210 Palestinians have since been killed and 59,167 others injured, according to Gaza’s health authorities, while nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

According to Gaza’s government media office, around 69,000 housing units have been destroyed or rendered uninhabitable while over 290,000 others damaged in the Israeli onslaught.

“It is estimated that over 500,000 people will have no home to return to and that many more will be unable to return immediately due to the level of damage to surrounding infrastructure,” OCHA said.

About 85% of Gazans have been displaced, while all of them are food insecure, according to the UN. Hundreds of thousands of people are living without shelter, and ⁠less than half of aid trucks are entering the territory than before the start of the conflict.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala