Desperate families already displaced by Israel’s devastating war, face deadly collapses and freezing conditions as storm hits.
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Web Desk
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Gaza Strip: At least 14 Palestinians, including several children and infants, have died across the Gaza Strip as Storm Byron battered the enclave with strong winds, heavy rain and freezing temperatures, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Interior and National Security.
The ministry said five people were killed overnight into Friday when a house sheltering displaced families collapsed in Bir an-Naaja, in northern Gaza. Hours later, two more people died after a wall fell onto tents housing displaced civilians in Gaza City’s Remal neighbourhood.
A day earlier, another person was killed in a structural collapse in the Shati refugee camp. In southern Gaza, a newborn in al-Mawasi died after being exposed to severe cold, officials said.
Medical staff have reported a growing number of deaths linked to exposure and unsafe shelter conditions. A source at al-Shifa Hospital told Al Jazeera Arabic that nine-year-old Hadeel al-Masri died in a shelter west of Gaza City, while infant Taim al-Khawaja died in Shati camp due to cold weather.
In Khan Younis, eight-month-old Rahaf Abu Jazar died after heavy rainfall flooded her family’s tent, according to local medical sources.
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza remain displaced, many living in tents or damaged buildings ill-equipped to withstand winter storms. Aid agencies have repeatedly warned that a lack of adequate shelter, heating and medical supplies is putting vulnerable populations particularly children at severe risk as winter conditions worsen.
