Gazans remain displaced, brace for cold

Thousands of Palestinians remain displaced in the Gaza Strip following the fatal Israeli military aggression against the besieged Palestinian territory that ended in August.

Palestinian media sources say more than 110,000 people, displaced by the Israeli war on Gaza, go from one place to another, looking for a safe refuge ahead of winter.

Many Gazans have been staying at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) schools and are in urgent need of further assistance, while others prefer to live in the rubble of their homes demolished during by the Israeli onslaught.

In different parts of Gaza, including the southern Khuza’a village in Khan Yunis, housing caravans were being set up by aid agencies to house the displaced people but aid workers warned that it is only a temporary solution to the crisis as the winter is nearing.

The Popular Committee for Breaking the Gaza Siege warned on Thursday that people of Gaza would face a “catastrophe” if winter came before they had found shelter.

The group also urged the international community and Palestinian authorities to immediately find a solution for thousands of homeless people in Gaza and to start the reconstruction of their houses.

Palestinian experts, however, have said in a recent report that the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip would cost six billion euros (7.7 billion dollars).

Shelter Cluster, an international organization engaged in the assessment of post-war reconstruction, said in a recent report that about 17,000 housing units were destroyed by the Israeli war. The group also said it would take 20 years to rebuild Gaza.

The Israeli war killed over 2,100 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and injured around 11,000.

MOS/HSN