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| A boy looks out from a tent at a camp sheltering displaced Palestinians, after heavy rains in Gaza City on 11 December 2025 (AFP/Omar al-Qattaa) |
A Palestinian infant died from the cold on Thursday as heavy rain across the Gaza Strip continued for a second day, flooding tented encampments and roads.
Eight-month-old Rahaf Abu Jazar died in Khan Younis after rainwater leaked into her family’s tent during overnight storms.
Her family was among hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians awoken in the night as torrential downpours inundated the makeshift shelters they rely on for protection.
Gaza’s war-damaged sewage system also overflowed under the heavy rain.
“We are drowning in rainwater mixed with sewage,” said Amal Eleiwa from Gaza City.
Originally from the Shujaiya neighbourhood, Amal's home was destroyed in the war, forcing her to flee from shelter to shelter at least 10 times.
“Water comes in from both above and below. Our blankets are soaked – so are our children,” she said.
With their home destroyed, the family of 10, including seven children, was living in a single tent.
“We have nowhere else to go.”
The heavy rain also caused at least three buildings to collapse, according to local media.
Moamen Riyadji rented a damaged house just before the storm, after warnings that it could be catastrophic for displaced people in tents.
He tried to cover the partly open roof, damaged in Israeli strikes, but flooding still reached more than 15 centimetres.
“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."
Worn-out tents
An estimated 1.5 million people live in worn-out tents across the Gaza Strip, displaced after nearly 80 percent of structures were destroyed by Israel in two years of genocidal war.
Last month, heavy rains destroyed around 13,000 tents.... READ MORE https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/palestinian-baby-dies-storm-floods-tent-encampments-gaza