Not thine is the earth, but thou belongest to the earth, to respect it as Divine soil and to deem every one of its creatures a creature of God, thy fellow-being; to respect and love it as such, and as such to endeavor to bring it nearer to its goal, according to the will of God. For this reason every being impresses upon thy spirit an image of itself; for this reason thy heart-strings pulsate sympathetically with every cry of distress heard anywhere in creation, or with every tone of joy which issues anywhere from a gladsome being; therefore thou rejoicest when the flower blooms and sorrowest when it fades.
Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, 19 Letters, Letter Four
Meanwhile, in Gaza tonight
"Yellow Line" on a topographic map of Gaza. It shows that the Israeli military is pushing Palestinians into the lowest-lying parts of Gaza, ensuring that as many people as possible are flooded by cold water and sewage.
Yes — the reporting is consistent and specific on this point. Israel has blocked prefabricated homes, mobile homes/caravans, and most shelter materials from entering Gaza, and has allowed only limited numbers of tents.Gaza City council member Mustafa Qazzaat, speaking to AFP, said Israel has not allowed prefabricated homes into Gaza since the truce was announced and has permitted only limited tent entry, while Gaza urgently needs around 200,000 prefabricated homes.1 2 3 Israeli authorities have classified shelter items — tent poles, construction materials, and mobile homes — as "dual use," effectively barring them almost completely, and roughly 8,600 IOM emergency shelter kits have been sitting outside Gaza and turned away at crossings.4 5 Prefabricated homes were also excluded on the grounds that they count as reconstruction, which Israel has made conditional on political and military requirements.6 Other reporting confirms that despite the October ceasefire, severe restrictions on caravans and shelter goods continue.7The practical result: the first winter storm of the season flooded at least 70,000 tents in about 12 hours on November 7, 2026, and hundreds of families fled camps in Gaza City and the central and northern Strip.1 5 The UN humanitarian office says 294,250 families need shelter assistance, supplies cover only partial help for 18 percent of them, and more than 1.6 million people are living in tents or makeshift shelters.2
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