Hundreds of displacement tents across Gaza were flooded from late Thursday night into Friday morning as a powerful winter storm battered the besieged enclave, worsening already dire humanitarian conditions in open displacement areas, according to the Palestinian Information Center.
Field sources said torrential rain and strong winds inundated roads and tents in the al-Mawasi areas of Khan Yunis and Rafah in southern Gaza. Dozens of tents were blown away by high winds, compounding the suffering of families living without basic safety or shelter.
In a tragic development, Malak Rami Ghanim, a young girl living with her family in a displacement tent in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, died from extreme cold amid the storm, as families lack heating and adequate medical care.
Palestinian Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmoud Basal said the recent succession of storms has caused widespread humanitarian disasters, including the collapse of buildings previously damaged by Israeli bombardment during the genocide.
Basal warned that the Civil Defense is facing a severe shortage of equipment and machinery needed to rescue victims trapped under collapsed structures, cautioning that casualties could rise if harsh weather conditions persist without urgent intervention.
He called for the immediate entry of caravans and mobile homes to be installed in safe areas away from at-risk buildings, equipped with basic living necessities, steps, he said, require immediate international action to protect displaced families and begin recovery.
Separately, Ismail al-Thawabta, director general of the Government Media Office (GMO), warned of an imminent humanitarian catastrophe due to the fragility of infrastructure after widespread destruction caused by Israeli attacks.
Al-Thawabta said heavy rainfall, strong winds, the risk of flash flooding, and water accumulation in low-lying areas and near wadis are further complicating an already catastrophic situation as the storm intensifies.
He stressed that conditions for affected families remain extremely difficult, with large numbers still sheltering in makeshift centers that lack minimum standards for dignified living, even as the impacts of the genocide continue.
More than one million displaced people in Gaza face worsening hardship with the onset of winter, amid continued delays in allowing reconstruction materials and shelter supplies, especially caravans, into the territory. As a result, tents have become deadly traps, offering little protection from rain, wind, and freezing temperatures.
The severe weather has flooded hundreds of tents, turning displacement sites into pools of standing water and leaving thousands of families, particularly children, women, and the elderly, exposed to life-threatening conditions, as international inaction persists.
Source: the Palestinian Information Center
