Storm Byron wreaks havoc in war-torn Gaza, killing 14
Storm Byron wreaks havoc in war-torn Gaza. At least 14 people have died in the storm. According to an Al Jazeera report, displaced residents in the valley were already in crisis due to Israeli attacks, but the Gaza Ministry of Interior and National Security said that this disaster has brought new disaster. The report also said that houses, walls and even tents, the only source of shelter, collapsed across the Gaza Strip after Storm Byron hit. Meanwhile, thousands of families are in distress without adequate clothing, fuel or any protective equipment to survive.
According to the Gaza Ministry of Interior, a house used to shelter displaced people in the Bir an-Naja area of northern Gaza collapsed in the storm early on Friday (December 12), killing five people. On the same day, two more were killed when a wall collapsed on a tent in the Remal area of Gaza City. Earlier in the day, a structure collapsed in the Shati refugee camp, killing one person. A child died of the cold in al-Mawasi. Al Jazeera’s Ibrahim al-Khalili, reporting from al-Mawasi in southern Gaza, said the storm had turned shelters into death traps. “Flooding, heavy rain and hail remain a threat,” he said. “Some 850,000 people in 761 shelters are at risk from the storm,” he said. The UN said about 800,000 people were now at high risk. The valley lacks the infrastructure to deal with disasters. The Israeli blockade, war damage and extreme weather have left Gazans in a humanitarian crisis.
