25 Palestinians killed by severe weather as Israeli forces flood displaced Gazans’ shelters

At least 25 Palestinians, including six children, have died in Gaza since the beginning of December due to severe weather conditions, heavy rainfall, and extreme cold, Gaza Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmoud Bassal announced.

On Monday, Bassal said the deteriorating humanitarian situation, combined with unstable weather, has led to multiple fatalities, with some victims killed by collapsing buildings, while others fell into wells or rainwater collection pits.

He noted that Gaza’s Health Ministry only counts bodies transferred to hospitals, whereas Civil Defense figures also include victims who were not taken to medical facilities. Earlier, the Health Ministry had reported that three children had died from cold exposure since early December.

According to Civil Defense, 18 residential buildings previously damaged by Israeli airstrikes completely collapsed during the recent storms, while more than 110 others suffered dangerous partial collapses, threatening the lives of thousands living in or near them.

Bassal said many residents are forced to remain in cracked and unstable structures because they have no alternative, as most of Gaza’s buildings have been destroyed and Israel continues to block the entry of mobile homes, construction materials, and reconstruction efforts, despite ceasefire commitments.

He added that about 90 percent of displacement tents across Gaza were torn from the ground or flooded due to strong winds and heavy rain, leaving thousands of families without shelter and destroying their limited belongings, including clothes and blankets.

Meanwhile, Palestinian media reported that Israeli forces deliberately opened the Wadi Gaza waterway, previously blocked by dams, triggering massive floods that submerged tents of displaced families nearby.

The sudden torrents, which struck early Monday, caused panic among families, particularly women and children, and left residents unable to save their possessions amid freezing temperatures and a lack of emergency aid.

Although a ceasefire officially ended the war in October 2025, living conditions in Gaza have not improved. Hundreds of thousands of displaced people remain trapped between the threat of renewed bombardment and worsening floods, cold, and hunger, prompting renewed warnings of an escalating humanitarian catastrophe.