The deep winter storm sweeping across the Gaza Strip has intensified the already severe suffering of residents, coinciding with the ongoing consequences of the Israeli war of extermination that has lasted for more than two years. The war has destroyed most residential buildings, infrastructure, and essential facilities, while exposing the population to prolonged periods of malnutrition and famine.
The death toll from the storm, which has been named “Peron”, has risen to 14 martyrs, including children and women. Deaths have resulted from severe weather disturbances and extreme cold, as well as partial and total collapses of homes and buildings onto their residents due to heavy rainfall, in addition to the flooding and destruction of deteriorated shelter tents.
The winter climate in the Gaza Strip is relatively cold and humid. Temperatures usually range between 7 and 16 degrees Celsius during December and January, and may drop at night to below 5 degrees on some nights. Periods of intense low pressure systems often bring even lower temperatures.
The suffering of Palestinians in Gaza began with displacement and homelessness when the occupation ordered the evacuation of the northern part of the Strip in October 2023. This pattern was repeated almost weekly throughout long periods of the war of extermination, while the occupation systematically destroyed nearly all areas from which residents were forced to flee.
“We survived”
Suleiman, 45, says he now lives in a rented apartment after the occupation completely destroyed his family building, followed by the destruction of his in laws building where he had taken refuge during the later months of the war. Although he has temporarily escaped the hardship of tent life, his family has been severely affected by the current storm.
He explains that strong winds and heavy rain caused a large window in the rented apartment to be torn out and fall onto a bed where his children usually sleep. He says, “By God’s mercy, they were not in the room at the time. The window was large, and if it had fallen on an adult man, it would have killed him.”
He adds, “May God help us and help the people in the tents. Everything anyone in Gaza has right now in terms of blankets and bedding is all they own. Buying new supplies is extremely difficult and very expensive. Once these items get wet, it means intense cold. There are no ways to dry blankets except the sun, which is absent due to the storm and heavy rain.”
Suleiman continues, “Getting warmth right now is extremely difficult. We are not talking about the cost of electricity or gas or any fuel. We are talking about fire, firewood, and timber, primitive means of heating. But anyone who has extra wood or firewood saves it for daily cooking, if they can even light a fire under these conditions.”
“I will die of fear”
Fatima says that winter, rain, and cold weather had always been her favourite season over the past years, and that she used to mock people who preferred summer. Since the start of the war of extermination and the loss of everything, winter has become a nightmare for her.
She explains that she lives in the remains of her home, which was heavily damaged and of which slightly more than half remains standing. She notes that she is “grateful and thanks God that she did not have to live in tents”, but says she has become extremely anxious after many apartments and buildings in Gaza collapsed due to heavy rainfall over the past days.
She adds, “At night, when the rain intensifies, I think: will the roof collapse on us? Will we be trapped under the rubble of the house with no means of rescue, like tens of thousands of people during the war of extermination? Will we die slowly from the cold under the stones? These thoughts occupy my mind all night until I finally fall asleep.”
From the tent
Walid believes that staying in a tent during severe low pressure conditions like the current storm is not entirely bad, and may even be better given the dangerous condition of buildings that have been severely cracked due to intense bombardment and repeated shockwaves over the past two years.
He explains, “The main idea is to keep the tent dry inside and prevent water from entering. This depends on the tent’s location, whether it is in an area where rainwater accumulates or in the path of water flowing from higher to lower ground. If the inside of the tent remains dry, it is possible to retain warmth overnight by keeping it closed and using heavy blankets.”
He adds, “Of course, choosing a suitable location for a tent is not available to most people. Areas in Gaza are overcrowded, camps are densely packed, and tents are erected randomly wherever empty land is found or near markets or water stations and other basic necessities.”
Walid points out that keeping tents dry also depends on the condition of the tent itself, whether it is water resistant, and whether plastic coverings are available to place over the tent to protect it from rain in winter and from the scorching sun in summer, which weakens the fabric over time.
He says, “Most people’s tents are two years old from the war, and have been assembled and dismantled multiple times. These tents have endured two summers of extreme heat and three seasons of rain and wind. It is normal for them to flood. It would be abnormal if they did not.”
Since the onset of the storm, the number of buildings that were already damaged by Israeli bombardment and then collapsed due to heavy rainfall has risen to 16 buildings, according to official data and security sources.
On Thursday night, hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians endured extremely difficult conditions inside deteriorated tents across the Gaza Strip, as the effects of Storm Peron continued. Rainwater flooded camps, torrents swept through shelters, and strong winds uprooted more than 27,000 tents, according to a statement by the Gaza Government Media Office.
Around 250,000 families currently live in displacement camps across the Gaza Strip, facing cold temperatures and flooding inside fragile tents, according to previous statements by Civil Defence. Despite the end of the war of extermination, living conditions for Palestinians in Gaza have not improved due to Israel’s strict restrictions on the entry of aid trucks, in violation of the humanitarian protocol of the agreement.
The Israeli war of extermination on Gaza, which began on 8 October 2023 with American support and lasted for two years, resulted in more than 70,000 martyrs and over 171,000 wounded, most of them children and women, and caused destruction to 90 percent of civilian infrastructure.
