Severe Weather in Gaza Causes 12 Deaths and Floods Thousands of Tents
Conditions for residents in the Gaza Strip have deteriorated sharply in recent hours following a severe weather system that has resulted in 12 fatalities, including children, and extensive damage to displacement camps and fragile homes that could not withstand the heavy rains and strong winds.
At least 13 homes have collapsed in various areas of Gaza, with the most recent incidents occurring in the Karama neighborhood and Sheikh Radwan district.
The civil defense teams continue to respond to hundreds of emergency calls and requests for assistance.
However, the most significant tragedy has unfolded in displacement camps, where floodwaters have inundated, swept away, or uprooted over 27,000 tents, turning large areas into muddy swamps amid freezing temperatures.
In Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip, the collapse of a house sheltering displaced individuals in the Bir al-Najjah area resulted in the deaths of five people and injuries to others, according to the "Wafa" news agency.
Two additional fatalities occurred when a large wall fell on tents in the Rimal neighborhood, west of Gaza, late Friday night.
Extreme cold has also claimed the lives of children; a girl died in Gaza City, and an infant in the beach camp, while another individual was killed in the same camp due to a wall collapse. Two children were injured in the Abou Jabal camp in the Al-Imadi area when a tent fell on them. In Al-Mawasi, Khan Younis, another infant died inside a tent that offered no protection against the harsh weather.
The weather system has also caused flooding in entire camps in the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis and significant damage in Al-Bassa and Al-Baraka areas of Deir al-Balah, as well as in the central market of Nusseirat, along with Yarmouk and the port of Gaza City.
The UNRWA has warned of an escalating humanitarian disaster, stating that heavy rains and the dampness of tents are exacerbating already poor health conditions in this overcrowded region, raising concerns about a heightened risk of disease spread due to the intense cold, poor wastewater management, and lack of hygiene. The agency has called for urgent facilitation of humanitarian aid before the situation worsens.
