The plight of Gaza s children living in rain soaked tents is a disgrace to our time

The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, Francesca Albanese, described the plight of children in the Gaza Strip, forced to remain in flooded tents without protection from the winter cold, as “a disgrace of our time.” She was referring to the deteriorating humanitarian situation and the continued suffering of displaced people despite the ceasefire.

In a post on the X platform, Albanese expressed her outrage at the images of children living in flooded tents, lacking even the most basic protection against the winter.

She added, “The words of Primo Levi, which every European memorizes in school but forgets once they enter the world of politics or diplomacy, come to mind.”

Albanese’s remarks come as the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip worsens, with a severe weather system bringing heavy rains and a powerful storm that has flooded tens of thousands of tents and exacerbated the suffering of displaced people facing winter in rudimentary and dilapidated shelters lacking even the most basic protection.

According to the Government Media Office in Gaza, the storm caused the flooding of approximately 70,000 tents belonging to displaced people. Meanwhile, a sand dune collapse on tents in Deir al-Balah resulted in the deaths of four Palestinians, including a mother and her two children, highlighting the dangers facing displaced people due to the lack of safe shelter.

Last August, the Government Media Office reported that more than 2.15 million Palestinians were living in dire humanitarian conditions, including approximately 867,000 residing in dilapidated tents and over one million in shelters, amidst a worsening housing crisis.