’We’re Drowning’: Deadly Storm Hits Gaza Camp, Claims Baby’s Life

“We are drowning in rainwater mixed with sewage,” said Amal Eleiwa from Gaza City. Originally from Shujaiya, her home was destroyed in the war, forcing her family of 10, including seven children, to move from shelter to shelter.

“Water comes in from both above and below. Our blankets are soaked – so are our children. We have nowhere else to go,” she added.

Heavy rain caused at least three buildings to collapse, local media reported. Moamen Riyadji, who had just rented a damaged house, struggled to cover its partly open roof, but flooding still reached over 15 centimeters.

“Last night was some of the worst we have experienced. We couldn’t even sleep,” he told Middle East Eye. “God knows what will happen to us. But if things stay like this, I may have to find another place – maybe a tent would be safer.”

Storm Byron has hit Palestine and "Israel" earlier this week and is expected to last until Friday, with the heaviest downpours still to come.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs [OCHA] warned on Wednesday that low temperatures and heavy rains place vulnerable populations at extreme risk, particularly newborns.

In a post on X on Thursday, the UN Relief and Works Agency [UNRWA] said winter rains are "bringing new hardships" across the besieged enclave.

“Flooded streets and soaked tents are making already dire living conditions even more dangerous,” it said. "Cold, overcrowded and unsanitary environments heighten the risk of illness and infection."

An estimated 1.5 million people live in worn-out tents across the Gaza Strip, displaced after nearly 80% of structures were destroyed by "Israel" in two years of genocidal war.

Last month, heavy rains destroyed around 13,000 tents.

According to Gaza’s Government Media Office, 300,000 tents and mobile homes are needed to meet minimum shelter requirements.

However, "Israel" has refused to allow the supplies in, in violation of the ceasefire agreement.

“This is the third winter we are spending in tents. We are constantly drenched by rainwater,” said Said al-Ghoula from Shujaiya. “Every winter, we wake to lift blankets and mattresses off the ground so they don’t get soaked.”

Om Osama Abujarad from Beit Hanoun fled her submerged tent to a school and said, “The tent is flimsy – water seeps through from above and below. I honestly don’t know where to go.”