HUNDREDS of displacement tents across Gaza were flooded from Thursday night into Friday morning as a powerful winter storm battered the besieged enclave, worsening already dire humanitarian conditions in open displacement areas.
Field sources said torrential rain and strong winds inundated roads and tents in the al-Mawasi areas of Khan Younis 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 Defence 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 Defence 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.
- The foreign ministers of eight Arab and Muslim countries have called on Israel to immediately lift restrictions on the entry of essential supplies into the Gaza Strip, warning of a rapidly worsening humanitarian catastrophe.
The appeal came in a joint statement signed by the foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Pakistan, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar.
The ministers expressed deep concern over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza, which they said has been compounded by severe and unstable weather conditions, including heavy rainfall and storms, alongside the continued lack of adequate humanitarian access. They cited acute shortages of life-saving supplies and the slow pace of entry of materials needed to restore basic services and establish temporary shelter.
They stressed that harsh winter conditions have exposed the extreme fragility of the humanitarian situation, particularly for around 1.9 million displaced people living in inadequate shelters. Flooded camps, damaged tents, collapsing structures previously hit by Israeli attacks, freezing temperatures, and widespread malnutrition have sharply increased life-threatening risks, especially for children, women, the elderly, and people with serious medical conditions, including heightened danger of disease outbreaks.
The ministers praised the efforts of UN agencies, particularly UNRWA, as well as international humanitarian NGOs, for continuing to provide assistance under extremely difficult and complex conditions.
