Winter storm floods Gaza tent camps, families struggle
Storm Byron has devastated Gaza’s makeshift tent camps, leaving tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians wading through knee-deep floodwater and soaked belongings. The winter storm exposed the fragility of the two-month-old ceasefire, which has done little to improve the worsening humanitarian crisis.
Families in Khan Younis and Deir el-Balah reported mattresses and possessions soaked, children crying as water pooled inside tents, and dirt roads turned to mud. “We have been drowned. I don’t have clothes to wear and we have no mattresses left,” said Um Salman Abu Qenas, a displaced mother, News.Az reports, citing Al Jazeera.
Aid agencies say the situation is worsened by restrictions on humanitarian supplies. Israel has reportedly not met the truce’s requirement of allowing 600 aid trucks daily into Gaza. UNRWA warned that “cold, overcrowded, and unsanitary environments heighten the risk of illness and infection,” urging unhindered access for medical aid and shelter materials.
The Palestinian Civil Defence said at least three damaged buildings partially collapsed and issued warnings against staying in unsafe structures. Over 2,500 distress calls have been logged since the storm began.
Residents struggled to bail water from tents, while vulnerable children and infants faced severe risk. Aliaa Bahtiti said her eight-year-old son “was soaked overnight… in the morning he had turned blue, sleeping on water.” Baraka Bhar tended to her three-month-old twins, one suffering from hydrocephalus, as rain poured through worn-out tents.
The winter storm has underscored the fragile truce in Gaza and the urgent need for humanitarian support to prevent further suffering.
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