Flooding has devastated Gaza’s myriad camps and 'tent cities' amid aid restrictions, coinciding with a UN Security Council vote on a US-backed resolution for an international peacekeeping force for the enclave later on Monday.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has warned that 13,000 families in Gaza, whose homes were destroyed during two years of sustained Israeli bombardment, are now enduring bitterly cold temperatures and flooding in severely inadequate makeshift shelters.
According to UN data, more than 80 percent of all buildings and housing units in Gaza have been damaged or demolished since the start of the war. Despite the ceasefire - intended to allow desperately needed aid into the enclave - Israel continues to block the entry of tents and mobile homes into Gaza.
This comes as Israeli forces killed at least three Palestinians in Gaza on Sunday, after carrying out strikes east of Khan Younis in the south of Gaza, Al Jazeera English reported. Israeli attacks also targeted Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighbourhood as well as areas near Rafah in the south.
Meanwhile, the UN Security Council is expected to vote on a resolution endorsing a US-backed Gaza peace plan, which would build on the ceasefire agreement brokered last month by US President Donald Trump.
The resolution would formally approve the creation of a transitional administration and a temporary international security force in the devastated territory.
In contrast to earlier drafts, the latest version refers to the possibility of a future Palestinian state - an idea firmly rejected by the Israeli government. If passed, the resolution would move forward the second phase of the US-backed deal that brought about the current ceasefire after two years of war in Gaza.