NEW YORK, December 18, 2025 (WAFA) – The United Nations announced that approximately 55,000 Palestinian families have been affected by the recent rains and storms in the Gaza Strip, with their properties and shelters damaged.

This statement was made by Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, during a press conference held at the UN headquarters in New York on Wednesday.

Haq added, "The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimates that approximately 55,000 families across Gaza have been affected so far by the recent rains, and that their properties and shelters have been damaged or destroyed by the storm."

He noted that the storms and rains also damaged dozens of child-friendly spaces in Gaza, disrupting child protection activities and affecting approximately 30,000 children across the Strip.

Haq also warned that ongoing Israeli restrictions continue to hinder the efforts of humanitarian aid organizations to expand their operations more rapidly in the Gaza Strip. The heavy rains that hit Gaza in recent days have exacerbated the already dire living conditions in an area devastated by intense Israeli bombardment, flooding makeshift tents.

Medical sources reported that the number of deaths in Gaza hospitals due to the storm and severe cold has risen to 13.

K.T