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Gaza is expected to experience further suffering from hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who are already unable to withstand the harsh winter weather.

Nearly all of Gaza’s two million people have been forced to live in these temporary shelters as a result of Israel’s more than two-year genocidal conflict.

According to a report released last week by Gaza’s Government Media Office, 127, 000 of the 135, 000 tents in displacement camps have been made unusable as a result of recent extreme weather.

According to Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum, who was reporting from Gaza City on Monday, “the reality on the ground tells a very painful and grim story.”

“Hundreds of thousands of displaced families are still living in torn tents and roofless homes that have been subjected to the cold, rain, and freezing nights.”

According to Abu Azzoum, Israeli restrictions directly cause this suffering because Israel hasn’t been allowing the “entry of prefabricated mobile housing units and the building materials that are essential for winter protection” or the flow of desperately needed basic humanitarian aid.

Aid deliveries were supposed to be significantly increased under a United States-brokered ceasefire, which came into force on October 10 and which Israel has violated nearly daily. At least 600 trucks a day are scheduled to enter Gaza to meet the needs of the population.

Since the ceasefire, only 145 trucks have reportedly entered Gaza, according to the government media office.

Palestinians have been “improvising by reinforcing their makeshift tents with plastic sheets, keeping themselves fully clothed, and burning scraps inside the makeshift tents to use them for heating because fuel supplies and heating mechanisms along the Strip are unaffordable,” according to Abu Azzoum.

Winter in Palestine can be “very brutal,” he said, but what makes this one even worse is that it comes after months of “displacement, hunger, and exhaustion.”

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, at least 25 people have died as a result of Israeli bombing, which has also caused the relentless destruction of previously damaged buildings.

The harsh winter conditions “are among the most affected” by the elderly, the sick, and the children, according to Abu Azzoum.

According to a report released last week by the Government Media Office, 21 children have died as a result of cold exposure.

In a statement, it stated that “all the victims were Palestinians who had been forced to flee their homes.”

A spokesperson for the Palestinian Civil Defense in Gaza reported last week that hospitals across the country have been seeing an increase in patients with cold-related illnesses, particularly children, and that the organization has received hundreds of calls for help from people with extreme cold.

Three months into her first-ever female prime minister position, she announced the snap election announcement on Monday.

At a press conference, Takaichi stated that “I, as the prime minister, have decided to dissolve the lower house on January 23.”

The snap election on February 8 will determine all 465 of Takaichi’s parliamentary lower house seats and mark his first electoral test since taking office.

Withholding a vote early would enable her to capitalize on strong public support to consolidate her position within the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and strengthen the fragile majority in her coalition.

At a time when the public is most concerned about the rising cost of living, the election will test voter appetite for higher spending. According to a poll conducted by NHK last week, 46% of respondents cited prices as their top concern, followed by 16% for diplomacy and 16% for national security.

Takaichi announced last week that she would hold snap elections while keeping her diplomatic schedule in mind.

The prime minister met with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on January 13 to talk about security and economic ties between the two countries in her hometown of Nara.

On the rumor that Takaichi would hold snap elections to capitalize on strong poll results, Tokyo shares increased by more than 3 percent on Tuesday.

Taiwan tussle with China

According to the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper, a clear mandate for Takaichi and the LDP could also aid in breaking the diplomatic stalemate.

Since Takaichi suggested in November that Japan might launch an attack on Taiwan, the self-proclaimed island nation, in November, ties have seriously deteriorated.

Beijing has reportedly been choking off exports of rare-earth products crucial to making everything from electric cars to missiles, and it has announced a broad ban on “dual-use” goods with potential military applications.

Takaichi stated last month that she was “always open” to discussions with China.

The Lee administration, for its part, has emphasized its desire to “restore” ties with China, which continues to be South Korea’s largest trading partner. It also asserts that Lee’s “practical diplomacy” aims to maintain strong ties with both Japan and the United States, South Korea’s most important allies.

Seoul’s relationship to Washington and Tokyo was bolstered by Yoon Suk-yeol’s predecessor, Lee, and China’s position on Taiwan was being criticized more.