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Storm Byron has battered the Gaza Strip, leaving at least 14 people dead and many others injured as powerful winds, heavy rain, and collapsing structures hit families already uprooted by Israel’s ongoing assault, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Interior and National Security.
The ministry reported that five displaced people were killed overnight in Bir an-Naaja, northern Gaza, when a house sheltering them collapsed during the storm. At dawn, two more people died in Gaza City’s Remal neighbourhood after a wall fell onto nearby tents. A day earlier, another person lost their life in a structural collapse in Shati refugee camp, while a newborn in al-Mawasi died from exposure to the cold.
Medical workers say deaths linked to freezing temperatures are rising sharply. Staff at al-Shifa Hospital told Al Jazeera Arabic that nine-year-old Hadeel al-Masri died in a shelter west of Gaza City, and an infant, Taim al-Khawaja, died in Shati camp. In Khan Younis, eight-month-old Rahaf Abu Jazar passed away after rainwater flooded her family’s tent. Relatives said the family had been living in a roofless, damaged building after their home was destroyed in an Israeli air strike.
The child’s grandfather explained, “Yesterday we heard his mother scream, ‘My son is turning blue!’ We rushed him to al-Rantisi Hospital, but his temperature stayed between 33 and 34 degrees Celsius. His organs began failing, and eventually, he didn’t survive.”
Al Jazeera’s Ibrahim al-Khalili, reporting from al-Mawasi in southern Gaza, said the storm has turned fragile tents into deadly hazards. Authorities warn of more heavy rain, hail and possible flooding, threatening around 850,000 people sheltering across 761 sites. Many tents and makeshift shelters have already been destroyed, leaving families exposed to the harsh weather. Large parts of the coastline have also collapsed, endangering tents placed close to the sea.
Al-Khalili added that after more than two years of displacement due to Israeli bombardment, the storm has created “a new layer of suffering”. He said many families describe the devastation as “a new war”, as they are once again forced to flee whatever little shelter they had.
Al Jazeera journalist Hind Khoudary, reporting from Gaza City, said that at least 10 buildings have collapsed in the past 24 hours, with many more on the verge of falling. Palestinians continue to live inside these unsafe homes because there are no tarpaulins, tents, or alternative shelters available, as Israel continues blocking winter supplies. “Most of Gaza’s population is homeless,” she said.
Civil defence teams reported rescuing two injured children and recovering a body from the rubble in Bir an-Naaja, with more people believed trapped. The Interior Ministry said emergency crews have handled over 4,300 distress calls and documented at least 12 collapses of buildings previously damaged by Israeli strikes. Despite lacking proper equipment and fuel, civil defence and police teams are still attempting rescue operations. The ministry called on the international community to pressure Israel to allow emergency shelter materials into Gaza.
Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem said the storm-related deaths highlight the catastrophic humanitarian conditions caused by Israel’s bombardment. He described the recent collapses as part of an ongoing “war of extermination” and warned that children dying in flooded tents shows the crisis is far from over. He urged immediate global intervention to stop what he called genocide and to provide proper shelter materials, saying current aid supplies fail to protect people from cold and rain.
