ISRAEL’S aid restrictions on Gaza are cutting children off from much-needed protection and psychosocial support services, Save the Children warned today as the strip braced for more storms.

Only four of the charity’s eight child-friendly spaces in Gaza remain open after severe storms in November caused them to flood.

Some, the charity said, were damaged by “a combination of rainwater and sewage due to the destruction of sanitation systems during two years of Israeli bombardment.”

Staff working in Save the Children’s remaining spaces reported a massive attendance drop last month.

A lack of basic clothing, like jackets and shoes, has forced children to stay in their tents, the charity said, and older children, particularly teenagers, couldn’t go to its spaces because they were helping their families repair tents.

“As heavy rains once again swamp Gaza — where nearly the entire population has been forced from their homes — it is critical that Israeli authorities lift restrictions on aid and allow currently banned critical items like tent poles in, as well as more winter supplies like tents, shelter items, winter clothes and blankets to enter the Strip,” the organisation said.

Shurouq, media manager for Save the Children in Gaza, said: “It is heartbreaking speaking to fellow parents and children here. While restrictions mean there is a marked absence of efforts to rebuild communities and get children back on track with any semblance of normality — proper homes, formal schooling — our child-friendly spaces and temporary learning centres give them some respite from the horrors of the past two years.

“But now they are not even able to get that. Winter weather on top of two years of damage makes some of Gaza’s remaining ‘roads’ impassable, the services they lead to unreachable for children and families.

“One parent told me they cannot buy their children shoes. Another child told me they are awake all night freezing cold because their bedding and blankets are so wet after their tent flooded.”

Gaza’s government media office told Al Jazeera today that 288,000 Palestinian families are without shelter as Storm Byron approaches.

A United Nations study in October found that almost 81 per cent of all structures in Gaza, including 320,622 housing units, had been damaged by Israel’s genocidal bombardment.

In September 2024, the UN Environment Programme said it could take up to 20 years to remove all the debris.

The UN Development Fund (UNDP) revised the timeline last month, saying “most debris could be cleared within seven years, but only under the right conditions.”

Doing so requires unimpeded access to priority locations, permits for heavy machinery and specialised equipment, consistent fuel entry, and above all, a stable operating environment, it said.

“UNDP estimates that $110 million (£82.4m) is required now to put efforts on track to meet this seven-year target.”