jordan pulse -

Heavy rain has claimed lives and submerged tents in the Gaza Strip, with water levels in some reaching over 30 centimetres.

"We’re drowning"—this is the phrase echoing among displaced residents across Gaza as a cold front brings plummeting temperatures and torrential rain.

One of them, Umm Mohammed Wadi, who fled to Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, described her ordeal on the Gaza Today programme with a hoarse voice caused by the flu:
"My tent, where I live with my seven daughters, was flooded along with all our clothes and blankets. I have nothing dry left to keep them warm, and now all of them have severe flu."

The situation is no different in northern Gaza, where tents in the Yarmouk Camp were also flooded. Basma Mohammed, a 12-year-old girl, awoke to find her tent and bedding soaked. Standing drenched in the rain, she said:
"Everything is flooded. I’m freezing. Please provide us with tents that can withstand the cold and rain."

The Gaza Civil Defence reported that over 1,500 tents sheltering displaced families were inundated, with water levels exceeding 30 centimetres in many. The cold front has caused widespread shivering and ruined belongings.

The crisis is not just material—lives have been lost. The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza announced the deaths of seven people, including six newborns, due to the cold. Among them was Jomaa al-Batran, a 40-day-old infant whose heart stopped as he succumbed to the cold. His twin brother remains in intensive care at al-Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza.

The twins’ family lives in a tattered tent on the beach west of Deir al-Balah, which offers no protection against the cold. Their four-year-old sister is also hospitalised with severe chest infections and breathing difficulties. Their father, Yahya al-Batran, said:
"I’ve pleaded with every organisation to provide warmth for my family, but no one has responded. I fear losing my children one by one before my eyes."

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) previously announced a shortage of winter supplies, citing delays in obtaining entry permits for Gaza. Spokesperson Inas Hamdan stated that aid had reached its lowest levels in the last four months of 2024, with the last distribution of tarpaulins—only a few thousand—taking place over a month ago.

Since 7 October 2023, around two million displaced people in Gaza have faced dire humanitarian conditions. According to Gaza's Government Media Office, they are living in approximately 135,000 tents, 110,000 of which have deteriorated and are now unfit for use.