PALESTINIAN resistance movement Hamas has called on international mediators to take effective and concrete steps to compel Israel to comply with its obligations under the ceasefire agreement, amid mounting warnings that Israeli obstruction is threatening the continuation of humanitarian operations in Gaza.
The call came in response to a joint statement issued by the United Nations and more than 200 humanitarian organisations, which warned that Israeli restrictions are jeopardising life-saving aid efforts across the territory.
In a press statement, Hamas said the UN warning over Israel’s potential move to revoke the registration of dozens of international relief organisations ‘underscores the danger of the occupation’s approach in deepening the humanitarian catastrophe’.
The Movement stressed that these policies require urgent international action and the mobilisation of all available means to provide relief to Palestinians in Gaza.
Hamas said the Israeli government, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, is, according to the UN and international organisations, systematically tightening the siege and weaponising humanitarian aid, depriving civilians of their basic rights as part of the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people.
It said these actions constitute a clear violation of the ceasefire agreement brokered under the sponsorship of US president Donald Trump, adding that hundreds of field violations have resulted in the killing of hundreds of Palestinians, either by fire from the Israeli occupation forces or as a result of obstructed relief operations and the failure to provide shelter for displaced civilians.
In a separate statement, Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem said the martyrdom of children from extreme cold in Gaza amounted to a crime committed by the occupation through its continued siege and its prevention of reconstruction.
Qassem said repeated appeals to allow real shelter solutions and to begin reconstruction have failed to move the international community to save Gaza’s children, who ‘were killed by bombardment and are now dying from the cold’.
He urged the international community to take immediate and serious action to rescue Gaza before the catastrophe worsens and mass fatalities occur.
He also called on the US administration and President Donald Trump to pressure Israel to honour its ceasefire commitments, particularly humanitarian and relief provisions, and to ensure that international humanitarian organisations can operate without obstruction in Gaza.
Earlier on Thursday, Nasser Medical Complex announced the martyrdom of a child due to severe cold in the al-Mawasi area west of Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, adding to a growing number of children who have died in recent days as a result of harsh weather conditions.
Over the past week, Gaza has been hit by two severe winter storms that have killed at least 16 Palestinians, further worsening living conditions in a territory devastated by genocide that has killed more than 70,000 people, wounded over 171,000 others, and destroyed around 90 per cent of civilian infrastructure.
Heavy rains have flooded approximately 53,000 tents that fail to meet even minimum humanitarian safety standards, as border crossings remain closed and the entry of emergency shelter materials is blocked.
The crisis has been compounded by Israel’s failure to comply with the ceasefire agreement and its humanitarian protocol, particularly provisions related to shelters, tents, and mobile housing units.
The United Nations has said that about 55,000 families have been affected so far by the most recent rains across the Gaza Strip, with their belongings and shelters damaged or destroyed in the storm.
The statement was made by Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for the UN secretary-general, during a press briefing at the UN headquarters in New York on Wednesday.
Haq also noted that the storms and heavy rain damaged dozens of child-friendly spaces in Gaza, leading to the suspension of child protection activities.
This disruption affected around 30,000 children across the territory, he added, stressing the need for urgent repairs to ensure these child activities can resume without delay.
The spokesman warned that Israel’s ongoing restrictions continue to obstruct humanitarian organisations from expanding their response more quickly in Gaza.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said on Thursday that at least 16 Palestinians, including three children, have died in Gaza in recent days as a result of heavy rainfall, freezing temperatures, and the collapse of damaged buildings.
In a statement, UNRWA said the harsh weather conditions have further intensified the humanitarian catastrophe in the besieged enclave, underscoring the urgent need to scale up assistance and protection for civilians and to mitigate the impact of climate-related disasters.
Earlier, Gaza’s Ministry of Health announced the martyrdom of a 29-day-old infant, Saeed Abdeen, who succumbed to extreme cold in the al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis in southern Gaza. His death brought the total number of fatalities linked to the latest weather system to 17 cases that have reached hospitals.
Gaza Civil Defence spokesman Mahmoud Basal said the severe weather over the past week has killed 17 people, including four children, due to extreme cold, while others died as a result of building collapses.
Basal said more than 17 residential buildings have completely collapsed, while over 90 others have suffered dangerous partial structural failures, posing an immediate threat to the lives of thousands of residents.
Palestinians in Gaza are enduring these conditions in the aftermath of a devastating genocide that has lasted nearly two years, killing more than 70,000 people, injuring over 171,000 others, and destroying around 90 per cent of the territory’s civilian infrastructure.
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) kidnapped a number of Palestinian citizens, including a child, during raids in the West Bank Wednesday night and at dawn Thursday.
According to local sources, the IOF kidnapped a child called Mahmoud Qit after ransacking his family’s house in Madama town, south of Nablus.
Israeli forces also assaulted a young man inside his house before kidnapping him in al-Ein refugee camp, west of Nablus.
In Qalqilya, two young men were taken prisoner following IOF raids on homes in Hajja town.
The IOF also stormed neighbourhoods of Qalqilya City, broke into and searched homes, and interrogated several residents.
In Tulkarm, the IOF kidnapped a young man after searching his house in the city’s Dinnaba suburb.
The IOF also stormed the towns of Anabta and Kafr al-Labad, east of Tulkarm, where they intercepted vehicles and citizens for security checks, conducted interrogations, and kidnapped two young men.
In southern al-Khalil, Israeli soldiers savagely assaulted two local young men in the hamlet of Deir Razih.
In the southern area of al-Khalil City, an IOF armoured vehicle deliberately rammed a Palestinian car, causing only material damage to it.
The IOF also raided homes and assaulted citizens in other areas of the West Bank, without making arrests.
In a separate incident, armed Jewish settlers launched a stone-throwing attack on a car in the north of al-Khalil City, shattering windows and denting the exterior. No injuries were reported.
