At least 16 people have died in the past 24 hours in the Gaza Strip, including three children who died from exposure to the cold as a winter storm battered the Palestinian territory. This was stated by the civil defense in Gaza to AFP, quoted by NOVA.
The heavy rains caused by the storm “Byron“ have flooded tents and temporary shelters across the Gaza Strip since late Wednesday, deepening the suffering of the local population, almost all of whom have been displaced during more than two years of war.
The Civil Defense Agency in Gaza, which functions as a rescue service under the rule of Hamas, said that three children had died of frostbite - two in Gaza City and one in Khan Younis in the southern part of the territory.
The “Al-Shifa“ hospital in Gaza City confirmed the deaths of 9-year-old Hadil al-Masri and Taim al-Khawaja, who was reported to be only a few months old.
On December 11, the “Nasser“ in Khan Yunis reported that 8-month-old Rahaf Abu Jazzar had died of cold in the nearby Al-Mawasi tent camp.
With most of Gaza's buildings destroyed or severely damaged, thousands of tents and makeshift shelters are now spread across areas cleared of rubble.
Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Bassal said six people were killed when a house collapsed in the Bir al-Naja area of the northern Gaza Strip.
He added that two more bodies had been pulled from the rubble of a home in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City.
Another five people died when walls collapsed in separate incidents, Bassal said.
The Civil Defense said its teams responded to reports of "13 houses that collapsed as a result of heavy rainfall and strong winds, mainly in Gaza City and the northern regions“.