235,000 Affected in Gaza Due to Low Pressure System That Led to Building Collapses and Damaged Tents

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said on Monday that about 235,000 people in the Gaza Strip were affected by the low-pressure system "Byron," which led to the collapse of buildings and damage to tents between December 10 and 17.

The agency explained in a post on its account on the American company "X" platform that "months of war and displacement have forced people in Gaza to live amidst rubble prone to collapse, in temporary shelters or dilapidated tents."

It added that the storm "Byron" that hit the Gaza Strip on December 10 was "a natural disaster, but its repercussions were man-made," referring to the exacerbation of damages due to widespread destruction and lack of safe shelters following the Israeli genocide war.

It continued: "It is estimated that 17 buildings collapsed, and more than 42,000 tents or temporary shelters suffered complete or partial damage during the period from December 10 to 17, affecting at least 235,000 people," according to what it quoted from the Shelter Cluster in Gaza, which includes United Nations-affiliated organizations and non-governmental ones.

Since the impact of the low-pressure systems on Gaza began in December, 18 Palestinians, including 4 children, have died, while about 90 percent of the displacement centers for those whose homes were destroyed by Israel were flooded, according to a previous statement from the Civil Defense in the sector.

The low-pressure systems also led to damage affecting more than a quarter of a million displaced people, out of about 1.5 million living in tents and primitive shelters that do not provide the minimum protection, according to previous data from the Government Media Office in Gaza.

Several residential buildings damaged by previous Israeli bombing during the months of genocide also collapsed due to rain and wind.

Palestinians are forced to live in cracked buildings prone to collapse due to lack of options amidst Israel's destruction of most buildings in the sector, and its prevention of the entry of mobile homes, construction materials, and reconstruction, shirking its obligations stipulated in the ceasefire agreement.

Despite the end of the genocide with the entry into force of the ceasefire agreement on October 10, 2025, living conditions have not seen significant improvement due to Israel's shirking of fulfilling its obligations stipulated in the agreement, including the entry of the agreed quantities of food, relief, and medical materials, and mobile homes.

On October 8, 2023, Israel began a genocide in Gaza that lasted two years, leaving about 71,000 Palestinian deaths and more than 171,000 injured, and massive destruction that affected 90 percent of the civilian infrastructure, with reconstruction costs estimated by the United Nations at about 70 billion dollars.