Chilly Gaza braces for more winter rain and word of any progress in ceasefire talks

Barefoot children played on chilly sand as Gaza’s thousands of displaced people prepared threadbare tents on Saturday for another round of winter rain, highlighting the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the war-torn territory.

Some families in the central town of Deir al-Balah reported living in tents for about two years, spanning most of the conflict between Israel and Hamas that has devastated the region. Across makeshift camps, fathers could be seen reinforcing fraying tents with scavenged wood and inspecting holes in worn tarps, while inside these improvised shelters, daylight filtered through tiny holes like stars.

Mothers struggled against the persistent dampness, hanging clothing on poles or cords to dry between downpours that transform pathways into muddy puddles. One mother was observed pulling her young child away from a section of carpet covered in mildew.

“We have been living in this tent for two years. Every time it rains and the tent collapses over our heads, we try to put up new pieces of wood,” said Shaima Wadi, a mother of four children who fled from Jabaliya in northern Gaza. “With how expensive everything has become, and without any income, we can barely afford clothes for our children or mattresses for them to sleep on.”

The humanitarian toll continues to mount. Gaza’s Health Ministry, which operates under the Hamas-run government, reports dozens of deaths from hypothermia, including a two-week-old infant, while others have perished in weather-related collapses of buildings damaged during the conflict. International aid organizations have intensified calls for more shelters and humanitarian assistance to be permitted into Gaza.

Emergency responders have cautioned residents against sheltering in compromised structures, but with vast swathes of the territory reduced to rubble, options are severely limited. Ahmad Wadi described his desperate measures: “I collect nylon, cardboard and plastic from the streets to keep them warm. They don’t have proper covers. It is freezing, the humidity is high, and water seeps in from everywhere. I don’t know what to do.”

As winter conditions worsen for displaced Palestinians, diplomatic efforts continue on the international stage. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to visit Washington soon as negotiators discuss the second phase of the ceasefire that took effect on October 10.

While the agreement has largely held, progress has slowed considerably. The remains of the final hostage taken during the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, which triggered the war, remain in Gaza. The next phase faces significant challenges, including deploying an international stabilization force, establishing a technocratic governing body for Gaza, disarming Hamas, and implementing further Israeli troop withdrawals from the territory.

Both sides have accused each other of violating the truce. Gaza’s Health Ministry reported that since the ceasefire began, 414 Palestinians have been killed and 1,142 wounded. Additionally, the remains of 679 people have been recovered from rubble during this period, as the truce has made search operations safer. In the past 48 hours alone, 29 bodies were brought to local hospitals, including 25 recovered from beneath debris.

The Palestinian death toll from the Israel-Hamas war has reached at least 71,266, according to the ministry, with another 171,219 wounded. The ministry, which does not differentiate between militants and civilians in its count, maintains detailed records that are generally considered reliable by international observers.

Meanwhile, tensions have escalated in the West Bank following a deadly attack in northern Israel. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz stated on Saturday that military operations were continuing in Qabatiya, an Israeli-occupied West Bank town. The operation follows an incident where a Palestinian attacker reportedly rammed his car into a man and then stabbed a woman in northern Israel on Friday, killing both victims.

Israeli forces have surrounded Qabatiya, the attacker’s hometown, and are conducting what Katz described as “forceful” operations there. The attacker was shot and injured in Afula and subsequently hospitalized.

Israel commonly conducts raids in West Bank towns associated with attackers or demolishes homes belonging to assailants’ families, actions that Israeli authorities maintain help locate militant infrastructure and prevent future attacks. Human rights organizations, however, characterize such measures as collective punishment.

Footage showed Israeli bulldozers entering Qabatiya with soldiers patrolling the area. “They announced a strict curfew,” said resident Bilal Hanash, describing how main roads were blocked with dirt barriers, a tactic that has become increasingly common during the Gaza conflict. “So basically, they’re punishing 30,000 people.”