A wave of severe weather and extreme cold sweeping across the Gaza Strip has resulted in the deaths of at least 14 Palestinians within 24 hours, according to Palestinian civil defense authorities. The crisis is exacerbated by heavy rains, flooding, and collapsing structures, further complicating the existing humanitarian situation.
Cold exposure has proven deadly, with a child succumbing to extreme temperatures in Khan Younis on Thursday, and two more children dying in Gaza City on Friday under similar conditions. Reports indicate an additional fatality followed the collapse of a residential building, with rescue teams continuing to search for individuals believed to be trapped under the rubble.
Palestine’s official news agency WAFA cited civil defense and ambulance sources reporting that six individuals were killed when a family home collapsed in the Bir Al-Na’ja area of northern Gaza. In Gaza City, two fatalities occurred after a wall fell in the Rimal neighborhood, with another victim reported from a similar incident at the Shati refugee camp.
Civil defense officials have noted that approximately 15 homes have collapsed across the region, particularly in the Al-Karama and Sheikh Radwan neighborhoods, and warned that rescue operations are ongoing under extremely hazardous weather conditions. Heavy storms and flooding have devastated entire tent camps, heightening the suffering of Gaza’s 2.2 million displaced residents, many of whom have endured nearly two years of Israeli bombardment.
Thousands of families have been compelled to flee from flooded shelters in Deir al-Balah, Al-Mawasi, and along the southern coastline. UN agencies have indicated that the situation is worsening due to severe restrictions from Israel on essential winter supplies, including tents, timber, water pumps, and sandbags.
Currently, around 795,000 displaced people find themselves stranded in low-lying areas where floodwaters have mingled with sewage, causing concerns about serious disease outbreaks. With shelters inundated, families are seeking refuge in bombed-out buildings in Gaza City, often without access to electricity, gas, or firewood. Even emergency shelters have not escaped flooding, and weakened structures continue to collapse amid the storms.
Humanitarian organizations have stated that at least 300,000 tents are urgently needed, but shortages persist as Israel controls the entry of aid into Gaza. There are growing concerns about rising fatalities from exposure, illness, and contaminated water if conditions do not improve.
Visuals circulating on social media depict children attempting to fend off the cold within fragile, rain-soaked tents, while journalists’ tents in Gaza City have also been flooded, impeding their ability to report during the storm. The Gaza Ministry of Social Development has warned that the ongoing storm presents a grave risk to displaced Palestinians, emphasizing that it threatens more than 1.5 million individuals living in inadequate shelters that afford little protection against adverse weather.
The ministry described the crisis as unfolding within the framework of “the Israeli occupation’s criminal policies” and lamented the lack of meaningful international intervention. It characterized the climate-driven disaster as part of a broader humanitarian catastrophe resulting from what it termed genocide and Israel’s unlawful blockade of Gaza.
It accused Israel of continuing to close border crossings and obstruct relief supplies, preventing the entry of critical materials like tents, mobile homes, and caravans, and hindering efforts to establish alternative shelters for those displaced. “These inhumane policies constitute a blatant violation of international humanitarian law,” the statement read, highlighting the exposure of hundreds of thousands of civilians to severe risks from extreme weather and ongoing conflict without any protection or safe alternatives.
The ministry called for urgent action, appealing to the United Nations, international organizations, the U.S. President, mediators of the ceasefire agreement, and donor institutions to pressure Israel to open border crossings, allow emergency supplies into Gaza, and ensure humanitarian protection for displaced families during the storm. It urged “practical and binding measures” to prevent further flooding and structural collapses in the coming hours and during future storms.
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