GAZA, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), Seven Palestinians, including a child, died and others were injured as walls of homes and tents collapsed due to the severe “Byron” storm, now in its third consecutive day.
The deep low-pressure system continues to batter the Gaza Strip, pushing the living conditions of displaced families in tents to catastrophic levels.
According to emergency medical sources on Friday morning, five people were killed and others injured when a house collapsed in Be’er al-Na’ja, in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza.
Another person was killed and more were injured when a wall collapsed on tents housing displaced families near Taj Mall, west of Gaza City.
Two children were also injured when their tent collapsed in “Abu Jabal Camp” in the Al-Amadi area.
Additionally, the cold claimed the life of an infant in the displaced persons’ tents in Mawasi Khan Yunis on Thursday morning.
Gaza’s Civil Defense reported two deaths early Friday when a large wall fell on tents in western Gaza City as a result of the ongoing deep storm system.
In another statement, Civil Defense said they had evacuated residents and treated injuries after a house sheltering displaced people collapsed in the Be’er al-Na’ja area of Jabalia, northern Gaza.
Rescue teams also responded to two injured children whose tent had collapsed in Abu Jabal Camp in the north.
Since early Wednesday, Gaza has been experiencing a brutal winter storm that has flooded thousands of tents due to heavy rainfall, with stormy weather expected to continue through Friday evening.
The Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, expressed deep concern over the worsening humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip following the windstorm that flooded the tents of displaced families.
In a post on the X platform, Lazzarini noted that Gaza’s residents, who have already lost everything, are now facing a new wave of suffering as weather conditions deteriorate.
More hardship for displaced families living in makeshift shelters with rain bringing floods, damage and additional health threats, he said.
He explained that “UNRWA teams, displaced themselves, continue working to support people wherever they can. They are pumping away sewage and floodwater, clearing garbage, distributing tarpaulins, winter clothes & blankets, & providing medical care.”
