Gaza Herald – Gaza’s Health Ministry reported on Monday that a Palestinian infant died from freezing as a powerful winter system battered the besieged Strip, worsening the suffering of hundreds of thousands of displaced families forced to live in flimsy tents and makeshift shelters with no protection.
As the storm intensified, violent winds tore through displacement camps, ripping apart tents and flooding low-lying areas with rainwater. Entire families, especially children and the elderly, were pushed into life-threatening conditions, facing hypothermia, illness, and exposure amid severe shortages of heating and basic supplies.
Field sources said many families were driven into the open after their tents were destroyed, leaving more than a quarter of a million displaced people affected out of roughly 1.5 million Palestinians living in unsafe, temporary shelters across Gaza.
UNRWA said around 235,000 people were impacted by Storm Byron between December 10 and 17, with buildings collapsing and tens of thousands of tents damaged. The agency stressed that while the storm is natural, its devastating consequences are “man-made,” the result of Israel’s destruction of civilian infrastructure and the absence of safe shelter.
Since early December, at least 20 Palestinians, including four children, have died due to cold and storm-related incidents, according to Gaza’s Civil Defense. With fuel blocked, shelters banned, and homes destroyed, displaced families remain trapped between freezing weather and the ruins of a war-shattered enclave.
