Gaza storm death toll rises to 8, including children

Two Palestinian children died on Friday as a result of severe cold in their displacement locations in Gaza City, where they arrived at Al-Shifa Hospital after they had passed away, bringing the number of victims of the low air pressure that has been hitting the sector since Wednesday to eight.

For the third day in a row, the "Byron" storm has exacerbated the suffering of survivors of the Israeli war on Gaza.

A medical source reported that the child, Hadeel Hamdan, 9 years old, arrived at Al-Shifa Hospital dead, after she passed away as a result of the severe cold and bad weather.

According to the source and eyewitnesses, the child and her family were staying in a school that had been turned into a displacement center, amid harsh conditions and a lack of heating.

The same source also mentioned that the infant, Tim Al-Khawaja, who lives with his family in the remains of their home damaged by a previous Israeli bombing in the Al-Shati camp, west of Gaza City, died as a result of the severe cold.

With these two deaths, the total number of child deaths due to the cold in Gaza since the beginning of the low air pressure on Wednesday rises to three, as the Director-General of the Ministry of Health in Gaza, Munir Al-Bursh, confirmed that one death was recorded for a child as a result of the repercussions of the low air pressure and cold during the past two days.

On Thursday, the infant Rahaf Abu Jazar died in Khan Yunis, south of the sector, due to the cold and the flooding of her tent with rainwater.

Al-Bursh confirmed that this polar depression is the "most severe on children and women who live in torn tents, and have become in the open, soaked in rainwater, after their tents collapsed."

He explained that there are 44,000 pregnant Palestinian women living inside displacement camps, where suffering is exacerbated with the continuation of the low air pressure and severe cold, and in light of their loss of primary care for the mother and child.

He added: "The scenes of torn tents flooded with rainwater and children with rain falling on their heads represent a stain on the entire world."

He pointed out that the cold and rain have turned into a new death factor that is claiming the lives of Palestinians in Gaza.

He also pointed out that "large numbers of children arrived at hospitals suffering from breathing disorders, a drop in temperature, and heart attacks" as a result of the cold and the repercussions of the low air pressure.

He reiterated the crisis of medicines and medical supplies that the Ministry of Health is suffering from, pointing out that a thousand items of basic medicines and medical supplies are not available in hospitals due to the Israeli siege.

The Ministry of Health in Gaza stated on Sunday that "52 percent of the list of essential medicines, 71 percent of the lists of medical consumables, and 70 percent of the laboratory consumables have a zero balance."

Israel prevents the entry of sufficient quantities of medicines, medical supplies, and food into Gaza, where about 2.4 million Palestinians are suffering tragic conditions, in violation of the humanitarian protocol of the ceasefire agreement reached between Hamas and Israel on October 10, 2025.

Al-Bursh warned of an increase in the number of deaths due to the severe cold if the harsh conditions continue as they are.

For its part, the Ministry of Interior and National Security in Gaza announced the registration of "12 incidents of collapse of previously damaged buildings, as a result of heavy rains and strong winds, which led to the death of 8 citizens, including children, and the injury of others" since the beginning of the low air pressure.

The ministry reported the presence of a number of missing persons under the rubble of a house that Israel had previously bombed, and which collapsed on its residents on Friday due to heavy rains.

With the agreement entering into force, the Palestinians returned to live in their homes that Israel bombed during the war or on their ruins, in light of the lack of alternatives, especially mobile homes.

Despite the great risks, the Palestinians confirm that living inside the damaged homes remains less harsh than staying in tents made of worn fabrics, which do not protect from rainwater in the winter and do not protect from the cold.

The ministry indicated that the operations rooms in the competent authorities received more than 4,300 distress calls from Palestinians in various governorates of Gaza since Wednesday.

It continued: "Civil defense crews, with the support of the police force, are working to rescue and assist them in cooperation with the municipality crews, despite the limited capabilities and dilapidated equipment."

The ministry appealed to the international community and relevant institutions to take urgent action to bring in relief and reconstruction materials in light of the urgent need of the residents of the sector as a result of the catastrophic conditions they are going through.

Hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians lived through difficult times inside their modest tents in various areas of the sector on Thursday-Friday night, with the continued impact of the "Byron" storm.

About 250,000 families live in displacement camps in the Gaza Strip, where they face cold and floods inside dilapidated tents, according to previous statements by the Civil Defense.

Hundreds of tents were flooded on Thursday in various areas of the sector, with the continued impact of this storm.

Despite the end of the war, the living situation of the Palestinians in Gaza has not improved due to the strict restrictions imposed by Israel on the entry of aid trucks, in violation of the humanitarian protocol of the agreement.

The Israeli war on Gaza, which began on October 8, 2023 with American support and lasted for two years, resulted in more than 70,000 deaths and more than 171,000 injuries, most of them children and women, in addition to the destruction of 90 percent of the civilian infrastructure.