As more homes collapse and these temporary shelters collapse, the number of people suffering from the weather continues to increase, further complicating the already tragic humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Traps Found in Destroyed Homes
Gaza's Civil Defense Services reported two deaths on Sunday after a wall collapsed during the cold. One of the deceased was a 7-year-old child. As families crowd into the damaged homes and hold on to unstable ruins for shelter from the rain, the risk of dying from a collapse increases.
Aid organizations have warned that bombed-out homes are even more vulnerable during the winter season due to the high winds and torrential rainfall. The Hamas-controlled Gaza Media office reported 20 deaths due to the collapse of buildings and homes since the beginning of winter, and over 49 buildings have collapsed to date due to the weather.
For thousands of people living in fragile tents, the risks are just as severe but different. Powerful winds threaten to tear the tents apart, while the ground beneath them remains flooded due to heavy rainfall. Eyad Abu Jdeyan, a displaced resident of Deir al-Balah, told us his tent was destroyed by a falling tree, the second tent he's lost to the storm. Families sit waiting for death to arrive; he's begging someone to give them shelter.
Ahmed Radwan of Gaza Civil Defense reported that after a long night of heavy rain, residents of Khan Younis woke up to find their tents flooded. He called the conditions dreadful; he said, "Even livestock and animals could not live there." The families that have lost their homes have nowhere safe to go. He calls the situation catastrophic, and the weather has exacerbated an already dire humanitarian situation.
