Torrential rains flood tents, collapse homes in Gaza killing 6: health officials

A rainstorm swept across the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, flooding hundreds of tents, collapsing homes sheltering families displaced by two years of war and killing at least six people, local health officials said.

Medics said five people, including two women and a girl, died when homes collapsed near Gaza City’s beach, while a one-year-old boy died of extreme cold in a tent in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza.

Tents were torn from their stakes, some flying dozens of meters before crashing to the ground. Others lay crumpled in muddy pools as families scrambled to salvage what they could.

Three of the dead were from the same family — Mohamed Hamouda, 72, his 15-year-old granddaughter and his daughter-in-law. They were killed when an eight-metre-high wall collapsed onto their tent in a coastal area along the Mediterranean shore of Gaza City, the hospital said. At least five others were injured in that collapse.

Dozens of relatives gathered at a hospital morgue on Tuesday for special prayers over bodies laid on medical stretchers before the funerals.

Their relatives arrived Tuesday morning to remove the rubble and begin rebuilding the tent shelters for the survivors.

“We didn’t realize what was happening until the wall started collapsing. Because of the speed and force of the wind, the wall fell on top of us, onto three tents,” Bassel Hamouda said after the funeral for his relatives.

Residents tried to resecure remaining shelters, hammering in loosened pegs and stacking sandbags around the edges to keep floodwaters from pouring inside.

Three months since a ceasefire halted major combat, Israeli forces have ordered the near-total depopulation of nearly two thirds of Gaza, forcing its more than two million people into a narrow strip near the coast where most live either in makeshift tents or damaged buildings.

“The world has allowed us to witness death in all its forms,” Hamouda said.

“It’s true the bombing may have temporarily stopped, but we have witnessed every conceivable cause of death in the world in the Gaza Strip.”

At least 31 winter-related deaths reported

The Hamas-run Gaza government media office said at least 31 Palestinians had died since the start of the winter season from exposure to cold or the collapse of unsafe buildings damaged by previous Israeli strikes.

It said about 7,000 tents were damaged in the past 48 hours, most of whose occupants have no alternative shelter.

Municipal and civil defence officials said they were unable to cope with the storm because of fuel shortages and damaged equipment. During the war, Israel had destroyed hundreds of vehicles needed to respond to the weather emergency, including bulldozers and water pumps.

In December, a UN report said 761 displacement sites hosting about 850,000 people were at high risk of flooding, and thousands had moved in anticipation of heavy rain.

UN and Palestinian officials said at least 300,000 new tents were urgently needed for the roughly 1.5 million people still displaced. Most existing shelters are worn out or made of thin plastic and cloth sheeting.

“In Gaza, winter weather is adding to the suffering of families already pushed to the brink by over two years of war,” UNRWA, the UN Palestinian refugee agency, said in a post on X on Tuesday.

“Flooding, cold temperatures, and damaged shelters are exposing displaced people to new risks, while humanitarian access remains severely constrained,” it added.

In a statement on Tuesday, Hamas urged mediators of the Gaza ceasefire deal that began in October to compel Israel to allow the unconditional flow of aid, shelter, and rebuilding materials.

Israel says hundreds of trucks enter Gaza daily carrying food, medical supplies and shelter equipment. International aid organizations say the supplies are still insufficient.