Tents turn into “blazing ovens” as summer heat intensifies

Thousands of displaced families in the Gaza Strip are facing extremely harsh humanitarian conditions as temperatures begin to rise, amid continued residence in plastic tents lacking the most basic necessities of life, with warnings of the crisis worsening during the summer.

Umm Maher told “Palestine Today” on Monday that she could endure the winter cold in the tents, but she cannot withstand her tent made of “plastic sheets” in the summer because it turns into scorching flames.

She added: “Living in these tents during summer is like living in hell,” as her tent turns into a blazing oven when temperatures rise above normal levels on many occasions.

Khaled Ibrahim said that he lives in a tent made of plastic sheets no larger than 3 square meters, affirming that it turns into a real oven during the daytime hours in summer, forcing him to spend most of the daytime outside.

He explained that his one-year-old son has started waking up even at night due to the intense heat and begins to cry, forcing his mother to “wet a piece of cloth with water and wipe his body” so he feels some coolness. He expressed his hope that Gaza would bid farewell to the nightmare of tents, and that the world would accelerate the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip and return residents to their lives before the Israeli aggression.

For his part, the representative of the Ministry of Relief in the Gaza Strip, Adnan Hamou, warned of a major gap in the shelter sector, explaining that the Strip urgently needs more than 400,000 temporary housing units (caravans) to secure the minimum needs of the displaced.

He added that the Zionist entity authorities continue to restrict the entry of shelter materials and aid, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis, pointing out that the aid currently entering covers only a limited part of the actual need.

He also explained that the current tents are not suitable for long-term use, warning that they will turn into a suffocating, extremely hot environment during summer, in addition to the spread of insects and the deterioration of health conditions inside them.

Warnings from local and international organizations are increasing regarding the humanitarian situation in the Strip, amid continued widespread displacement and destruction of housing infrastructure, with urgent calls to accelerate the entry of aid, shelter units, and the start of reconstruction operations.