GAZA — An eight-month-old girl has died from extreme cold in the southern Gaza Strip, where Palestinian families displaced by Israel’s genocidal war are trapped in flooded tents as a winter storm swept in with heavy rain and strong winds.
Medical sources confirmed that 8-month-old Rahaf Abu Jazar died on Thursday morning due to severe cold in Khan Younis after days of relentless rain.
Displaced Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are waking up to inches of water flooding their tents, after nights of heavy rainfall that left their shelters and belongings soaked.
Three days of cold thunderstorms are expected to hit Palestine starting from Wednesday, the Palestinian Meteorological Department has warned, unleashing flash floods, high winds and even hail.
Gaza’s Government Media Office has called on the world to respond “to save the catastrophic humanitarian reality” in Gaza as cold weather and rain bears down on the enclave.
The storm Byron hit occupied Palestine, includong Gaza, on Wednesday and is set to last until Friday, bringing with it heavy rains that are flooding the tens of thousands of tents sheltering Gaza’s displaced people.
It is also bringing heavy winds, fierce waves from the sea and thunderstorms, according to the Office.
The Office said the weather “may cause extensive damage to tens of thousands of families living in tents and primitive shelters that do not protect them from the cold winter or the harshness of weather lows.”
On Thursday, the Palestinian Civil Defense reported that its crews in southern Gaza evacuated 14 tents flooded by rainwater in various areas of Khan Younis, moving displaced Palestinians to other locations . The Civil Defense crews also freed two cars stuck in sandy, muddy roads, despite the difficult access and limited resources.
On Wednesday morning, the rescue group warned that the coming hours are extremely dangerous and that Gaza may once again “witness a disaster as displaced families face severe flooding. We are in a very difficult situation, and global action is urgently needed to save Gaza from being submerged.”
The Gaza City Municipality also confirmed that the storms pose a major threat to the displaced people and to residents due to the destruction of the infrastructure after two-year Israeli genocide.
It noted the Israeli occupation has destroyed more than 85% of the equipment, “which hinders our ability to assist the population,” adding “the situation in the Strip is catastrophic due to the storms and the severe shortage of essential supplies.”
Gaza City Mayor Yahya al-Sarraj said on Wednesday, “We expect another wave of the storm, but we lack the necessary equipment to deal with it. We rely on equipment rented from the private sector, which is old and unsuitable for dealing with the storm.”
“The storm is exacerbating the humanitarian crisis amid the destruction of infrastructure and a lack of resources,” the mayor added.
Earlier, the spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres criticised Israeli restrictions on supplies going into Gaza.
Despite the UN providing tents, tarpaulins, blankets and winter clothes, more lasting preparedness for shelters and floods remains impossible, Stephane Dujarric told reporters.
“You will recall that a major impediment to shelter response is the restrictive registration requirements for NGOs imposed by the Israeli authorities,” Dujarric told reporters in a daily briefing.
“Many of our NGO partners remain blocked from bringing in relief, and nearly 4,000 pallets of shelter materials have been rejected by Israeli authorities,” he said.
“Gaza urgently needs heavy machinery, tools and many more shelter items to prevent catastrophic flooding,” he said.
It is now the third winter displaced Palestinians have endured since the start of the two-year Israeli genocide.
Videos and photos circulating on social media show displaced families’ tents flooded by rain on Wednesday, with mattresses, blankets, and personal belongings soaked.
People were also seen taking shelter from the rain with little clothing to protect them. Videos showed the displaced trying to remove large amounts of water from their tents with buckets.
According to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, nearly all of the Gaza Strip’s residents have been displaced. Following the start of the ceasefire, many families tried to return to their homes, most to find only rubble. However, according to the UN Satellite Centre, around 81% of all structures are damaged.
As the ceasefire enters its third month, humanitarian agencies say that far too little aid is reaching Gaza, as hunger persists and old tents start to fray.
The Israeli military has refused to allow the entry of many tents and mobile homes to Gaza despite the harsh weather conditions and the destroyed infrastructure.
According to the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), nearly 1.5 million people already required tents and other emergency shelter materials and more than 282,000 housing units have been damaged or destroyed across Gaza, leaving families without protection, privacy, or adequate shelter as temperatures drop.
On Tuesday, Israeli forecaster Tzachi Peleg mocked Gaza’s displaced residents, saying: “Not a single tent will remain… and I have no problem if people don’t survive either.”
Peleg predicted that strong winds and heavy rain could destroy most tent camps in the Gaza Strip. He excitedly said that drainage infrastructure is largely destroyed and will not withstand the storm. Underground tunnels are also expected to flood, he added.
Save the Children called on Israel to allow tent poles and other banned items to enter Gaza, along with tents, winter clothes and blankets, to better protect families from Storm Byron’s effects.
Since the ceasefire took effect in October, Israel has not allowed the Strip to receive timber, tent poles or tools because it considers them “controlled dual-purpose” items.
“No child should lie awake all night freezing in sewage-sodden bedding. This is unconscionable,” said Ahmad Alhendawi, the organisation’s regional director for the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe.
“What Palestinian children in Gaza need immediately is tents including tent poles, shelter, warm clothes, blankets and bedding”, as well as repairs to the sanitation system.
Last month’s storms forced half of Save the Children’s child-friendly spaces to close as camps were deluged with flooding, sewage and water damage, while attendance at its remaining four spaces has halved, the group said.
Nearly 850,000 people, currently sheltering in 761 displacement sites in the Gaza Strip, face the highest risk of flooding this week, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
In an update, OCHA said it had tracked more than 3,500 displacement movements between December 7 and 8, likely in anticipation of the heavy thunderstorms forecast to batter Palestine starting Wednesday.
Flooding has previously been recorded at more than 200 of the highest-risk sites, the office said, affecting more than 140,000 people.
UNRWA said on Thursday some streets in Gaza are flooded and tents are soaked after the latest winter rains, making dire living conditions even worse for the enclave’s forcibly displaced population.
“Cold, overcrowded, and unsanitary environments heighten the risk of illness and infection,” the agency said. “This suffering could be prevented by unhindered humanitarian aid, including medical support and proper shelter.”
UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese said Palestinians have been left to starve amid the storm, as the unstoppable “nightmare” continues in the enclave. — QNN
