Gaza's government said Saturday that a powerful polar low-pressure system that struck the territory in recent days killed 11 Palestinians, and caused about $4 million in direct damage, compounding an already severe humanitarian crisis due to a two-year Israeli genocide.
In a statement, the Gaza Media Office said the storm triggered the collapse of multiple buildings previously damaged by Israeli attacks, with Civil Defense teams recovering the bodies of 11 victims and continuing the search for at least one missing person.
The office said at least 13 homes collapsed across the enclave, all of them structures that had been struck earlier in the war. It said the storm also swept away or flooded more than 27,000 tents, within a broader impact zone that left over 53,000 tents either fully or partially damaged.
The destruction directly affected more than 250,000 displaced Palestinians, out of roughly 1.5 million people living in tents and makeshift shelters that offer little protection from rain, wind or cold, the statement added.
It said stormwater flooded and damaged sewage networks, submerged entrances to schools and education facilities being used as shelters, and destroyed service equipment inside those centers. Temporary water pipelines were also knocked out, mixing clean water with rainwater and mud and increasing contamination risks.
The statement said much of the makeshift medical points inside displacement centers were damaged, with the loss of medicines, medical supplies and first-aid equipment, while medical teams struggled to reach affected areas.
Thousands of families lost stored food supplies, including recently distributed aid that was ruined by floodwaters, and some shelters lost emergency stockpiles, it added.
In the agricultural sector, the office said low-lying farmland was flooded, seasonal crops were damaged and dozens of makeshift greenhouses were destroyed, cutting off a source of income for hundreds of displaced families already facing few alternatives.
The storm also damaged batteries, alternative lighting tools and small solar panels used by displaced families and shelters, the statement said.
The Gaza Media Office said the scale of losses reflects longstanding warnings about the fragility of displacement conditions, which it blamed on Israeli restrictions that it said have blocked the entry of 300,000 tents, mobile homes and caravans and prevented the construction of safe shelters.
It held Israel "fully and directly responsible" for the humanitarian conditions and called on the international community, the UN and its agencies, humanitarian organizations, ceasefire guarantors and donor states to take urgent action to pressure for the unconditional opening of crossings and the immediate entry of shelter materials and emergency supplies, in line with the humanitarian protocol of the ceasefire agreement.
A powerful winter storm swept the Gaza Strip over the past few days, killing many, including children, since Wednesday, as torrential rain, freezing temperatures, and strong winds triggered deadly collapses of bombed-out buildings, flooded displacement camps, and exposed families to extreme cold.
Although a ceasefire took effect on Oct. 10, living conditions in Gaza have not improved, as Israel continues to impose strict restrictions on the entry of aid trucks, violating the humanitarian protocol of the agreement.
Israel has killed more than 70,300 people, mostly women and children, and injured over 171,000 others in attacks in Gaza since October 2023, which have continued despite the truce.
