{"id":188202,"date":"2025-12-16T21:24:06","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T21:24:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/188202\/"},"modified":"2025-12-16T21:24:06","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T21:24:06","slug":"gaza-ceasefire-still-fragile-as-cold-turns-deadly-security-council-hears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/188202\/","title":{"rendered":"Gaza ceasefire still fragile as cold turns deadly, Security Council hears"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ramiz Alakbarov, Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process,\u00a0provided the update during his quarterly briefing on\u00a0Council resolution 2334 (2016)<\/a>\u00a0which calls for Israel to cease settlement activity in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.<\/p>\n

He\u00a0said the UN is doing\u00a0its\u00a0part to support the\u00a0ceasefire.<\/p>\n

Key to recovery<\/p>\n

The truce came into effect in October and is\u00a0based on a plan put forward by United States President Donald Trump, with mediation by the country alongside Egypt,\u00a0Qatar\u00a0and T\u00fcrkiye.<\/p>\n

Speaking from Jerusalem,\u00a0Mr. Alakbarov\u00a0urged Israel and Hamas\u00a0to fully implement the ceasefire, exercise maximum restraint, and adhere to international law, including relevant UN resolutions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ceasefire must be consolidated to enable recovery and reconstruction\u00a0in Gaza,\u201d he\u00a0said<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Cold kills newborn<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, winterization efforts are underway, and the UN is distributing tents,\u00a0blankets\u00a0and other essential supplies to the population. Still conditions\u00a0remain\u00a0dire, and\u00a0the risk of\u00a0hypothermia is increasing.<\/p>\n

\u201cTragically,\u00a0the first hypothermia-related death\u00a0of a two-week-old newborn boy from Khan Younis\u00a0was confirmed earlier today,\u201d\u00a0he said.<\/p>\n

He stressed that\u00a0\u201cpreserving and expanding operational space for the UN and its humanitarian partners, including through the renewal of NGO registration, is critical.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clean water shortage<\/p>\n

Mr. Alakbarov\u00a0expressed deep concern over the humanitarian situation\u00a0in the enclave.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile hunger has improved due to increased aid and commercial foodstuffs, key protein sources remain out of reach for most of the population, alongside severe shortages of clean water, medical care, and shelter,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

As humanitarian access\u00a0remains\u00a0restricted, with aid convoys facing logistical and security obstacles, he called on all parties to allow the full, unimpeded entry of humanitarian\u00a0assistance.<\/p>\n

Heavy rains\u00a0and\u00a0flooding\u00a0continue<\/p>\n

Heavy rains are compounding the already dire conditions families in Gaza are facing, UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq\u00a0said<\/a>, briefing journalists on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur partners report that the storm continued overnight and into today, causing\u00a0severe flooding of more than 40 designated emergency shelters\u00a0\u2013 mostly in Khan Younis and Gaza City,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Latest estimates\u00a0indicated\u00a0that some 700 tents were damaged or otherwise\u00a0impacted\u00a0by the\u00a0flooding\u00a0and thousands of people are affected.<\/p>\n

Teams helping\u00a0to\u00a0manage displacement sites are clearing blocked\u00a0drains\u00a0and pumping floodwater away from shelter yards.\u202f<\/p>\n

Commitment to deliver<\/p>\n

Despite the ongoing challenges, the UN and partners have been working to address needs across the Gaza Strip.\u202f\u202f<\/p>\n

On Monday,\u00a0they coordinated nine humanitarian shipments\u00a0with the Israeli authorities.\u00a0\u00a0Four were\u00a0facilitated\u00a0and three\u00a0were\u00a0impeded but eventually completed\u00a0their journeys.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese missions allowed us to collect critical supplies from the Kerem Shalom and Zikim crossings \u2013 including food, fuel, blankets, tents, and winter clothing,\u201d said Mr. Haq.\u202f<\/p>\n

The\u00a0final\u00a0two missions were\u00a0impeded\u00a0and only one was able to be partially accomplished.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rapid response system<\/p>\n

Mr. Haq explained that humanitarians\u00a0continue to provide support to affected families through a system that was set up for a rapid, joint response to flooding alerts.<\/p>\n

It\u00a0brings together UN agencies and\u00a0NGOs\u00a0to distribute tents, tarps, warm clothes,\u202fblankets\u202fand dignity kits.\u202f\u202f<\/p>\n

Last Saturday, partners\u00a0provided some\u00a07.5 kilos\u00a0of high-energy biscuits per household to more than 1,000 families\u00a0in various areas who were\u00a0affected by the latest rainstorm.\u202f\u202f<\/p>\n

Additionally, distribution of veterinary kits resumed on Sunday after the\u00a0bad weather\u00a0forced a temporary halt.<\/p>\n

Distributions initially began on 9 December,\u00a0and 400 herders have received kits and animal fodder since then.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ramiz Alakbarov, Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process,\u00a0provided the update during his quarterly briefing on\u00a0Council…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":188203,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":{"0":"post-188202","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-top-news","11":"tag-top-stories","12":"tag-topnews","13":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188202","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=188202"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188202\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/188203"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=188202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=188202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=188202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}