Weather

‘The scale of needs is so huge.’ As Gaza’s displaced Palestinians suffer from winter storms after surviving two years of genocidal war, UNICEF’s Jonathan Crickx explains how many clothes, blankets and tents are needed to save children from dying.

If you’re looking for some winter sun to soak up the rays on a golden sand beach engulfed with crystal-clear turquoise waters, there’s an idyllic destination just five hours from the UK

Amid the chaos of Christmas and chilly weather conditions, many of us are dreaming of jetting off to a warmer climate for some winter sun. One destination that has long been praised for its luxurious resorts and blistering 25-degree winter heat is just five hours away from the UK.

To help travellers uncover some of the best holiday getaways during the colder UK months, easyJet has released its ‘Winter Sun Index’. The airline compared factors such as flight and package prices, temperature, hours of sunlight per day, monthly precipitation levels, time difference, and the average cost of a beer and a meal for two, to highlight their top holiday destinations for some winter sun.

One desirable holiday hotspot, within easy reach of the UK, was Hurghada on the east coast of Egypt. The sun-soaked beach town is brimming with luxury resorts scattered along the shoreline, providing direct access to the crystal-clear waters where marine life thrives.

The turquoise sea is one of Hurghada’s most appealing factors, with scuba diving and snorkelling being undoubtedly popular pastimes here. Most resorts offer private areas along the golden sands for ultimate relaxation and convenience, but for those seeking more adventure, stunning desert landscapes are nearby, offering activities such as quad biking or Jeep safaris.

Located along Egypt’s Red Sea coast, easyJet found that Hurghada typically offers temperatures between 21C and 25C during the winter months, a stark contrast to the brisk highs of 6C we experience in the UK. Another factor making this destination rather desirable is easyJet’s findings that, on average, a pint costs just £1.75, while two people can enjoy a meal out for an estimated £26 – bargain!

Elsewhere, Hurghada basks in around 9-10 hours of sunshine every day, and there’s just a two-hour time difference compared to the UK, pretty much avoiding any signs of jet lag. Direct flights from London airports to Hurghada are just over five hours, with return flights starting from £154 with easyJet.

There are plenty of package deals available, making a spontaneous getaway even more effortless if you’re seeking that vitamin D fix. The Red Sea is renowned for its winter sun destinations, with Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt also remaining a popular choice for holidaymakers, thanks to its pristine sandy beaches and turquoise blue waters.

easyJet’s top 10 destinations for winter sun

1. Sal – Cape Verde
2. Hurghada – Egypt
3. Gran Canaria – Canary Islands, Spain
4. Lanzarote – Canary Islands, Spain
5. Agadir – Morocco
6. Fuerteventura – Canary Islands, Spain
7. Tenerife South – Canary Islands, Spain
8. Djerba – Tunisia
9. Seville – Spain
10. Paphos – Cyprus

Kevin Doyle, easyJet’s UK country manager, said: “As temperatures at home begin to drop and the days get darker, now is the perfect time to book an escape to warmer climes. easyJet’s unrivalled network and package holidays, offer a broad range of winter sun destinations across Europe and beyond, from Sub-Saharan islands to Spanish peninsula cities that are all easily accessible and affordable, for those looking to chase the sun on a budget this winter.”

Do you have a travel story to share? Email webtravel@reachplc.com

Civil defence crews in Gaza are racing to rescue people trapped under war-damaged buildings that have collapsed from heavy rain and strong winds during a severe winter storm.

Rescuers pulled bodies from under the rubble of a collapsed house in Gaza’s Beit Lahiya after heavy rain and winds brought the heavily damaged building crumbling to the ground. At least 12 people have died over the last 24 hours as Storm Byron inflicts further damage on the remnants of Israel’s genocide war.

Twenty states had challenged the end of the programme, meant to make localities more resilient to natural disasters.

A federal judge has said the administration of United States President Donald Trump acted unlawfully in ending a programme aimed at helping communities become more resilient to natural disasters.

The Trump administration had targeted the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) programme as part of a wider effort to overhaul the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

But on Thursday, US District Judge Richard Stearns ruled that the administration lacked the authority to end the grant programme. The decision came in response to a lawsuit filed by 20 states, the majority led by Democrats.

Stearns said the administration’s action amounted to an “unlawful executive encroachment on the prerogative of Congress to appropriate funds for a specific and compelling purpose”.

“The BRIC program is designed to protect against natural disasters and save lives,” Stearns wrote, adding that the “imminence of disasters is not deterred by bureaucratic obstruction”.

Stearns had previously blocked FEMA from diverting more than $4bn allocated to BRIC to other purposes.

Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell was among the plaintiffs praising the decision.

“Today’s court order will undoubtedly save lives by preventing the federal government from terminating funding that helps communities prepare for and mitigate the impacts of natural disasters,” she said in a statement.

BRIC is the largest resiliency programme offered by FEMA, designed to reduce disaster-related risks and bolster efforts to recover quickly.

The programme is emblematic of efforts under FEMA to take preventive measures to prepare for natural disasters, as climate change fuels more extreme weather across the country.

According to the lawsuit, FEMA approved about $4.5bn in grants for nearly 2,000 projects, primarily in coastal states, over the last four years.

Upon taking office for his second term, Trump initially pledged to do away with FEMA, with the agency sitting at the crossroads of the president’s climate change denialism and his pledge to end federal waste.

Trump has since softened on his position amid pushback from both Republican and Democratic state lawmakers. He has said he plans to reform the agency instead.

In November, acting FEMA head David Richardson stepped down from his post. That came amid internal pushback over Richardson’s lack of experience and cuts to the agency.

In a letter in August, nearly 200 FEMA staffers warned the cuts risked compounding future disasters to a devastating degree.

Upon taking on the role in May, Richardson threatened he would “run right over” anyone who resisted changes to the agency.

Displaced Palestinians in dire need of tents, blankets, warm clothing in harsh winter climate.

A baby girl whose family was displaced by Israel’s genocidal war against the Palestinian people in Gaza has died of exposure to the winter cold as Storm Byron lashed the enclave amid Israel’s continued restrictions on essential winter supplies.

Eight-month-old Rahaf Abu Jazar was reported dead on Thursday after her family’s tent in Khan Younis took in water as heavy rainfall flooded tent camps across the enclave overnight, according to the Reuters news agency.

Her mother, Hejar Abu Jazar, fed the baby before they went to sleep. “When we woke up, we found the rain over her and the wind on her, and the girl died of cold suddenly,” she told Reuters.

With hundreds of thousands of Palestinian families now sheltering in flimsy tents, Gaza’s civil defence agency struggled to cope, receiving more than 2,500 phone calls over a 24-hour period.

The agency reported that three buildings collapsed in Gaza City due to the storm.

Meanwhile, tents and other winter supplies remain blocked at the border as Israel continues to restrict the flow of aid into the enclave.

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) said only 15,600 tents had been brought into Gaza since the ceasefire came into effect in October.

Those tents have gone to help approximately 88,000 Palestinians, according to NRC. This is in a territory where 1.29 million people are in need of shelter.

Israeli rights group B’Tselem said more than 6,500 trucks are currently waiting to be allowed by Israel into Gaza with essential winter supplies, including tents, blankets, warm clothing and hygiene materials.

Jonathan Crickx, chief of communication at UNICEF Palestine, said the scale of the disaster was “huge”, warning of a looming health disaster as children wandered the camps barefoot.

“What we’re scared of is that there is very poor hygiene, and all that pouring rain could enable the appearance of waterborne diseases like acute diarrhoea,” he said.

Reporting from Gaza City, Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud said many families were leaving the seaport area as the winds picked up on Thursday. “They’re trying to get deeper inside Gaza City, to shelter in any of the remaining intact buildings – at least for the night,” he said.

As twilight descended, Mahmoud said many families faced a difficult night ahead. “Along with every other struggle that people have been going through for the past two years, there’s another battle now with the forces of nature,” he said.

Farhan Haq, spokesperson for United Nations chief Antonio Guterres, warned that more children could die of hypothermia. “That’s why we need to make sure that we can get warm clothing, tents and tarps and shelters [into Gaza],” he said.

The UN’s humanitarian office processed more than 160 flooding alerts since Thursday morning as Storm Byron barrelled through the enclave, said Haq.

Storm threatens hundreds of thousands of displaced people left homeless in Gaza due to Israel’s war on territory.