Live: Arab and Muslim countries urge Israel to allow 'permanent' shelter into Gaza as weather worsens

The civil defence in Gaza on Monday said that about 90 percent of the tents of displaced Palestinians were blown away or destroyed as a result of strong winds and heavy rains.

Palestinian media reported that thousands of families are living in extremely difficult humanitarian conditions due to the continuous rain and winds. 

Continued rainfall has further worsened the living conditions for residents of the Bedouin encampments in the northern Jordan Valley in the West Bank, Wafa news reported. 

The persistent rainfall has made movement difficult due to the absence of paved roads and streets, the report quoted residents as saying. 

They added that livestock herders have been unable to access grazing lands near their tents, as settlers continue to seize thousands of hectares.

The weather has exposed the lack of basic infrastructure in Palestinian villages across the northern Jordan Valley due to Israeli restrictions on construction. 

Unrwa on Monday said that hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza were affected by the storm, which has caused widespread damage to homes and tents.

The UN agency said in a statement that approximately 235,000 people were directly affected during the period from December 10 to 17, as a result of the collapse of buildings and damage to thousands of tents.

The agency said that ongoing Israeli aggression and displacement have forced Gaza residents to live among ruins and temporary shelters that lack the most basic safety features. 

The Chinese foreign ministry on Monday said that the nation ‍opposes any attempt to split ‌territories in Somalia, affirming support for the sovereignty of the East African country.

"No ‍country should encourage or ‌support other countries' internal separatist forces for its own selfish interests," ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told reporters at a press conference.

On Friday Israel became the first ‌country ‍to formally recognise the self-declared ⁠Republic of Somaliland as an independent and sovereign state. 

Civil defence officials on Monday said that more than half a million Palestinians in Gaza face danger of the current storm, as their teams are unable to respond due to fuel shortages. 

The civil defence teams asked residents to evacuate buildings that were in danger of collapse to avoid casualties.

Many tents are dilapidated, and the displaced Palestinians have not yet found any alternatives, Arab48 reported. 

Water flooded tents in low-lying areas, forcing families to go out into the open in cold and harsh weather, the report said. 

The Japanese Ambassador to the State of Palestine, Araki Katsuhiko, on Monday announced a $167m support package to Palestine, comprising of $10m in direct support, $30m to fund development projects and the remaining directed towards humanitarian projects. 

Palestinian media reported that the Japanese package includes funding for a wide range of projects, including humanitarian assistance in the health, water and sanitation, food security, and waste management sectors, as well as support for early recovery programmes, including debris removal.

Houthi leader Abdul Malik al Houthi on Monday said that the organisation condemns Israel's recognition of Somaliland as an independent state, adding that any Israeli presence in Somalia "will be a military target for our forces".

"The Israeli enemy, through its declaration, seeks to engage in hostile activities that threaten the security of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden," he said in a statement broadcast on the Al Masirah television channel. 

He said the Houthis would take "all possible means of support" to stand by the Somali people.

"We call on the Red Sea states and the Arab and Islamic world to take practical steps to prevent the Israeli enemy from violating Somalia's sovereignty," he added.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday arrived in Florida ahead of his meeting with US President Donald Trump. 

Netanyahu will meet Trump to discuss the next stage of the fragile Gaza truce plan, news agency AFP reported. 

Trump, who said Netanyahu had asked for the talks, is reportedly keen to announce a Palestinian technocratic government for Gaza and the deployment of an international stabilisation force as soon as January. 

Israeli government spokeswoman Shosh Bedrosian said Netanyahu would discuss the second phase, which involves making sure that "Hamas is disarmed, Gaza is demilitarised".

AFP reported that Netanyahu will also try to "shift the focus on to Iran" during his fifth meeting in the US with Trump this year, amid reports he will push for more US strikes on Tehran's nuclear programme.

Netanyahu is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity. 

Abdullah Hammoud, the mayor of Dearbon in Michigan, has said that Dearborn police would arrest Netanyahu if he entered the city, calling on other cities to do the same.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has made similar comments, vowing to arrest Netanyahu before he became mayor. 

Israeli forces on Monday set up checkpoints and blocked students and teachers from entering the Susya Mixed Basic School, south of Hebron in the West Bank, Palestinian media reported. 

Wafa news reported that Israeli forces set up a checkpoint inside the village, where the students, along with teachers, were detained for a period of time and subjected to harassment. 

Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi on Monday said that the organisation demands that the US administration put pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu and implement the ceasefire agreement in all its aspects.

"We want to complete the terms of the agreement and commit to moving to the second phase," he said. 

Mardawi said that the committee managing the Gaza Strip must be Palestinian, "reflecting the will of our people, and not a conduit for guardianship". 

He said Israel does not abide by the ceasefire agreement and "continues to practise its policies of killing and starvation", adding that the international community must not remain silent in the face of ongoing Israeli crimes.

The Israeli military, in a continued escalation of violence, targeted Gaza with artillery and attacked eastern areas of Khan Younis city in southern Gaza.

Palestinian media reported that Israeli planes also launched air strikes on the city of Rafah in southern Gaza.

An Israeli air strike targeted eastern areas of the Bureij camp in central Gaza, the report said. 

Shelling was also reported from the northern part of Bureij camp, where an Israeli helicopter opened fire. 

The Palestinian health ministry on Monday said that births in Gaza have declined by 40 per cent, as Israel directly targeted the fertilisation centres, and that the bombing of the Al Basma centre led to the burning of nitrogen pipes and the destruction of about 4,000 fertilised embryos.

The director general of the Ministry of Health in Gaza, Munir Barsh, said that the region witnessed a significant increase in abortion cases, along with a 40 per cent decrease in the number of births compared to last year, as monthly births declined from 26,000 to only 17,000.

He said that low birth weight has become a widespread phenomenon as a result of maternal malnutrition. 

The government media office in Gaza on Monday said that during the 80 days of the ceasefire agreement, Israeli forces committed 969 violations, resulting in 418 killings.

The statement said more than 1,141 Palestinians have been wounded during the same period, in addition to 45 cases of illegal arrest. 

Heavy rain and wind flooded the tents of displaced Palestinians in Khan Younis on Monday, where witnesses reported that floodwater destroyed what remained of the belongings of the displaced families.

The mayor of Khan Younis said hundreds of tents were blown away by the strong winds accompanying the low-pressure system hitting the Gaza Strip. 

Palestinian media reported that, amid the absence of basic necessities of life, harsh weather conditions have continued to worsen the living conditions of displaced Palestinians.

With continued rain and rising water levels, the Deir al Balah municipality issued a warning asking displaced people to avoid areas around the valley streams near Abu Khasiwan neighbourhood, noting that the rising water levels of the streams pose a direct threat to their lives.

Good morning Middle East Eye readers,

Here are the latest updates from Gaza, where Israel continues to violate the ceasefire more than two months after it came into effect:

• In Khan Younis, heavy rain, strong winds and rough sea conditions flooded the makeshift tents sheltering displaced Palestinians, with water seeping into areas where the tents had been set up.

• The Deir al Balah municipality issued a warning asking displaced people to avoid areas around the valley streams near Abu Khasiwan neighbourhood, saying the rising water levels of the streams pose a direct threat to their lives.

• The Israeli military, in a continued escalation of violence, targeted Gaza with artillery and attacked the eastern areas of Khan Younis city in the southern Gaza Strip.

• Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi said the organisation demands that the US administration put pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu and implement the ceasefire agreement "in all its aspects".

• Ten Palestinian prisoners were released by Israeli authorities and received at hospital via the International Committee of the Red Cross, which provided them with medical care, without providing details about their health condition.

• Israeli artillery targeted the northern part of Al-Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip.