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Eleven Palestinians Dead as Storm Ravages Gaza Camps
(MENAFN) A catastrophic polar low-pressure system that battered Gaza in recent days has claimed 11 Palestinian lives and inflicted approximately $4 million in direct damages, intensifying a humanitarian emergency amid a two-year Israeli military campaign, territorial authorities announced Saturday.
The Gaza Media Office reported the storm caused numerous buildings—already weakened by Israeli bombardment—to crumble, with Civil Defense units retrieving 11 bodies while search operations continue for at least one missing individual.
Officials confirmed no fewer than 13 residences disintegrated throughout the enclave, all previously struck during the conflict. The weather system additionally destroyed or inundated more than 27,000 tents, with over 53,000 additional shelters sustaining full or partial destruction within the broader impact zone.
More than 250,000 displaced Palestinians experienced direct consequences from the devastation, representing a fraction of approximately 1.5 million people inhabiting tents and improvised structures providing minimal defense against precipitation, wind and frigid conditions, according to the statement.
Stormwater overwhelmed and compromised sewage infrastructure, submerged entrances to educational institutions functioning as refuges, and obliterated service equipment within those facilities, officials said. Provisional water distribution systems were also eliminated, contaminating potable water with rainwater and sediment while escalating health hazards.
Much of the provisional medical infrastructure inside displacement centers sustained damage, resulting in losses of pharmaceuticals, medical provisions and emergency care equipment, while healthcare personnel encountered significant obstacles accessing affected zones, the statement noted.
Thousands of households lost preserved food reserves, including recently allocated aid materials ruined by floodwaters, with certain shelters depleting emergency reserves, authorities added.
Regarding agriculture, the office reported low-elevation farmland experienced flooding, seasonal harvests sustained damage and dozens of provisional greenhouses were demolished, eliminating income sources for hundreds of displaced families already confronting limited options.
The storm additionally compromised batteries, alternative illumination equipment and compact solar installations utilized by displaced households and shelters, the statement confirmed.
The Gaza Media Office emphasized the magnitude of losses validates longstanding alerts regarding the vulnerability of displacement circumstances, attributing responsibility to Israeli limitations that allegedly prevented entry of 300,000 tents, mobile residences and caravans while obstructing construction of secure accommodations.
The office held Israel "fully and directly responsible" for humanitarian circumstances and urged the international community, the UN and its agencies, humanitarian organizations, ceasefire guarantors and donor nations to implement immediate measures pressuring for unconditional border opening and prompt admission of shelter materials and emergency provisions, consistent with the humanitarian protocol of the ceasefire agreement.
A formidable winter weather system swept the Gaza Strip throughout recent days, killing numerous individuals, including children, since Wednesday, as torrential precipitation, subfreezing temperatures and powerful winds triggered fatal structural failures of bombed structures, submerged displacement encampments and subjected families to severe cold exposure.
Although a ceasefire became operational October 10, living standards in Gaza remain unchanged, as Israel maintains stringent constraints on aid vehicle entry, contravening the humanitarian protocol of the agreement.
Israel has eliminated more than 70,300 individuals, predominantly women and children, while wounding over 171,000 others throughout Gaza since October 2023 in military operations persisting notwithstanding the truce.
The Gaza Media Office reported the storm caused numerous buildings—already weakened by Israeli bombardment—to crumble, with Civil Defense units retrieving 11 bodies while search operations continue for at least one missing individual.
Officials confirmed no fewer than 13 residences disintegrated throughout the enclave, all previously struck during the conflict. The weather system additionally destroyed or inundated more than 27,000 tents, with over 53,000 additional shelters sustaining full or partial destruction within the broader impact zone.
More than 250,000 displaced Palestinians experienced direct consequences from the devastation, representing a fraction of approximately 1.5 million people inhabiting tents and improvised structures providing minimal defense against precipitation, wind and frigid conditions, according to the statement.
Stormwater overwhelmed and compromised sewage infrastructure, submerged entrances to educational institutions functioning as refuges, and obliterated service equipment within those facilities, officials said. Provisional water distribution systems were also eliminated, contaminating potable water with rainwater and sediment while escalating health hazards.
Much of the provisional medical infrastructure inside displacement centers sustained damage, resulting in losses of pharmaceuticals, medical provisions and emergency care equipment, while healthcare personnel encountered significant obstacles accessing affected zones, the statement noted.
Thousands of households lost preserved food reserves, including recently allocated aid materials ruined by floodwaters, with certain shelters depleting emergency reserves, authorities added.
Regarding agriculture, the office reported low-elevation farmland experienced flooding, seasonal harvests sustained damage and dozens of provisional greenhouses were demolished, eliminating income sources for hundreds of displaced families already confronting limited options.
The storm additionally compromised batteries, alternative illumination equipment and compact solar installations utilized by displaced households and shelters, the statement confirmed.
The Gaza Media Office emphasized the magnitude of losses validates longstanding alerts regarding the vulnerability of displacement circumstances, attributing responsibility to Israeli limitations that allegedly prevented entry of 300,000 tents, mobile residences and caravans while obstructing construction of secure accommodations.
The office held Israel "fully and directly responsible" for humanitarian circumstances and urged the international community, the UN and its agencies, humanitarian organizations, ceasefire guarantors and donor nations to implement immediate measures pressuring for unconditional border opening and prompt admission of shelter materials and emergency provisions, consistent with the humanitarian protocol of the ceasefire agreement.
A formidable winter weather system swept the Gaza Strip throughout recent days, killing numerous individuals, including children, since Wednesday, as torrential precipitation, subfreezing temperatures and powerful winds triggered fatal structural failures of bombed structures, submerged displacement encampments and subjected families to severe cold exposure.
Although a ceasefire became operational October 10, living standards in Gaza remain unchanged, as Israel maintains stringent constraints on aid vehicle entry, contravening the humanitarian protocol of the agreement.
Israel has eliminated more than 70,300 individuals, predominantly women and children, while wounding over 171,000 others throughout Gaza since October 2023 in military operations persisting notwithstanding the truce.
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