Fourteen Palestinians, including children, die in Gaza amid Storm Byron

Storm Byron has swept crossed the Gaza Strip, sidesplitting astatine slightest 14 radical and injuring others arsenic harsh winds, relentless rainfall and collapsing structures crush families already displaced by Israel’s devastating battle connected the enclave, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Interior and National Security.

The ministry said 5 radical died overnight into Friday aft a location sheltering displaced civilians successful Bir an-Naaja, successful bluish Gaza, collapsed during the storm.

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At dawn, 2 much radical were killed erstwhile a partition gave mode and fell onto tents successful Gaza City’s Remal neighbourhood. A time earlier, different idiosyncratic died aft a structural illness successful Shati exile camp, portion a newborn successful al-Mawasi succumbed to the freezing temperatures.

Medical unit successful Gaza study an alarming emergence successful deaths linked to exposure. A root astatine al-Shifa Hospital told Al Jazeera Arabic that nine-year-old Hadeel al-Masri died successful a structure westbound of Gaza City, portion babe Taim al-Khawaja died successful Shati camp.

In Khan Younis, eight-month-old Rahaf Abu Jazar died aft rainfall flooded her family’s tent.

Relatives said the household had been seeking refuge successful a roofless, bombed-out location aft an Israeli aerial onslaught destroyed their ain house.

“Yesterday, we were amazed to perceive his parent screaming, saying, ‘My lad is blue!’ truthful we carried the lad and went to al-Rantisi Hospital,” the child’s gramps said. “His somesthesia remained betwixt 33 and 34 degrees [Celsius; 91.4 – 93.2 degrees Fahrenheit], which has affected each his organs. His encephalon began to deteriorate, and that was the extremity of it.”

Heavy machinery operates arsenic Palestinians stitchery connected a heap of rubble amid a hunt for victims successful a destroyed location that collapsed amid dense rains, successful Beit Lahiya, successful the bluish Gaza Strip, December 12, 2025 [Mahmoud Issa/Reuters]

Al Jazeera’s Ibrahim al-Khalili, reporting from al-Mawasi successful confederate Gaza, said Storm Byron has turned flimsy shelters into deadly traps.

“Officials are informing that determination could beryllium floods, dense rainfall and hail, continuing done today. It is expected to endanger immoderate 850,000 people, including galore children, sheltering successful 761 sites,” helium reported.

“Here, tents person been destroyed owed to the dense rainfall and wind, leaving families facing ruined makeshift shelters.”

Large sections of the shoreline person collapsed, further endangering tents pitched metres from the sea.

Al-Khalili said families, pushed from spot to spot done much than 2 years of Israeli bombardment, present look “an added furniture of suffering”.

“The tents are collapsing; the acold is unbearable. Basically, they don’t person anyplace to go. What is unfolding is devastating,” helium said. “It’s not conscionable a storm; it’s a caller question of displacement adjacent aft the warfare has stopped. Many radical present told maine that a caller warfare has truly begun aft this flooding, and radical are being forced to fly immoderate fragile shelters they had.”

Most of Gaza is ‘homeless’

Reporting from Gaza City, Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary said astatine slightest 10 houses collapsed successful the past 24 hours, with much expected to crumble astatine immoderate time.

Palestinians stay wrong these buildings due to the fact that they person nary tarpaulins, nary tents and nary alternate structure arsenic Israeli authorities proceed to artifact winterisation supplies.

“Most of Gaza’s colonisation is presently homeless,” she said.

Civil defence crews accidental they retrieved 1 assemblage and rescued 2 injured children from the rubble successful Bir an-Naaja, with much radical believed trapped beneath collapsed homes.

The Ministry of Interior said exigency teams person received much than 4,300 distress calls since the tempest began, and recorded astatine slightest 12 collapses of buildings antecedently deed by Israeli strikes.

A displaced Palestinian lad carries belongings successful a flooded structure campy connected a rainy time successful Nuseirat, cardinal Gaza Strip, December 12, 2025 [Mahmoud Issa/Reuters]

Despite having astir nary instrumentality oregon fuel, constabulary and civilian defence teams proceed rescue operations, the ministry said. It urged planetary actors to unit Israel to let captious assistance and structure materials into the Strip.

“What is happening present is simply a wake-up telephone for everyone to look up to their responsibilities,” the connection read.

Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem described the deaths linked to the tempest arsenic a “continuation of the warfare of extermination” and grounds of the catastrophic conditions Israel’s bombardment has near behind.

“The successive collapses of homes bombed during the warfare of extermination connected the Gaza Strip, caused by the storm, and the resulting deaths, bespeak the unprecedented standard of the humanitarian catastrophe near by this transgression Zionist war,” helium said.

He added that children drowning successful flooded tents showed that “the warfare of extermination continues, albeit with changed tactics,” and called for urgent planetary enactment to halt what helium described arsenic genocide and to supply due structure materials. Current assistance supplies, helium said, “do not support against rainwater oregon the cold”.