News - Middle East: The Government Media Office in Gaza has issued an urgent warning that lives of displaced people, particularly children and the elderly, are at immediate risk due to a severe winter storm lashing the coastal enclave.

In a statement released Sunday evening, the office reported that more than 22,000 tents have been significantly damaged by the recent cold front. The situation is critical, with a near-total lack of heating sources and limited relief capabilities.

The statement emphasized that the continued Israeli closure of border crossings and the blocking of vital aid, including winter supplies and fuel, are dramatically increasing the risks for hundreds of thousands of displaced individuals. Families are facing a "catastrophic humanitarian reality," with camps transformed into water and mud-logged areas.

Displaced populations are forced to use primitive methods to combat the cold amid a severe shortage of blankets and winter clothing. The media office stressed that the current conditions pose a direct threat to life and that continued circumstances could lead to fatalities at any moment.

The office renewed its call for the international community to take urgent action to halt this accelerating humanitarian collapse and to pressure for the opening of crossings to allow the entry of emergency supplies. The warning highlights the rapid deterioration of living conditions in Gaza and the escalating human toll beyond the direct casualties of warfare.

Over 1.7 million people in Gaza are estimated to be internally displaced, many living in makeshift tents, following the recent devastating conflict. The arrival of winter storms has severely exacerbated the already dire humanitarian crisis caused by the two-year Israeli genocidal war, with a critical shortage of weather-appropriate shelter, fuel, and warm clothing.