The storm and deep depression that hit the Gaza Strip in less than 24 hours caused the death of 11 citizens and the injury of others, following successive collapses and widespread drowning in several areas of the Strip.
Local sources said that five citizens died and others were injured as a result of the collapse of a house housing displaced people in the Bir al-Naaja area of Beit Lahia, north of the Gaza Strip.
Two citizens died after a large wall fell on the tents of displaced people in the Al-Rimal neighborhood, west of Gaza City, at dawn Friday, a girl died due to the extreme cold in Gaza City, and an infant died in Al-Shati camp, while another citizen died yesterday as a result of the collapse of a wall in Al-Shati camp.
Two children were also injured after their tent fell in Abu Jabal Camp in Al-Emadi area, while the bitter cold led to the death of an infant inside the tents of the displaced in Al-Mawasi area in Khan Yunis.
A baby died this morning in Gaza’s displacement camps due to extreme cold, as severe weather continues to impact the war-torn region and reconstruction remains blocked by Israeli restrictions.
Civil defense crews indicated that at least ten houses collapsed during the past hours, the last of which were two houses in the Al-Karamah and Sheikh Radwan neighborhoods, in addition to evacuating the residents of the Darbieh family home after its entrance collapsed in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, and evacuating the Al-Madhoun family in the vicinity of the Al-Karamah roundabout in the northern Gaza Strip.
The depression also led to the submergence of entire camps in the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Yunis, and damage to large areas in Al-Bassa and Al-Baraka in Deir Al-Balah, the Central Market in Nuseirat, as well as the Yarmouk and Al-Mina areas in Gaza City.
Amid worsening conditions, people struggle to salvage what little they can from the water and mud, in a displacement forced upon them by Israel’s ongoing war.
Jonathan Crickx, UNICEF Palestine’s chief of communication, said he saw barefoot children in soaked tents during a visit to a displacement camp in Deir Al-Balah, where many are sick and unprotected from the rain.
After two years of war, families remain without relief. He noted only a slight increase in aid and said UNICEF has distributed just 7,500 tents, while hundreds of thousands still need shelter.
With up to 90% of Gaza’s infrastructure destroyed and 1.5 million people at risk, Crickx warned that poor hygiene and heavy rainfall could trigger waterborne diseases, especially among children who have been displaced multiple times.
The Palestinian Medical Relief Society reported that four of its medical points in Gaza were flooded by the rainwater, causing significant damage to medical equipment, while thousands of displaced people remain trapped in their worn-out tents after days of heavy rain and flooding.
The group stressed that the elderly and children are suffering the most under the harsh weather conditions. With the storm expected to intensify in the coming days, the group expressed deep concern over a potential collapse of the already fragile food system.
