At least 14 Palestinians have died in Gaza over the past 24 hours, including three children who succumbed to extreme cold, as a powerful winter storm swept through the besieged territory, further exposing the humanitarian catastrophe facing its population after more than two years of relentless war and displacement.

Gaza’s civil defence agency said heavy rainfall brought by Storm Byron has flooded tents and makeshift shelters across the Gaza Strip since late Wednesday, leaving thousands of already displaced families exposed to freezing temperatures, strong winds, and collapsing structures. Nearly the entire population of Gaza has been uprooted as a result of Israel’s sustained military assault, with most homes either destroyed or severely damaged.

According to the civil defence, which functions as the primary rescue force in the territory, three children died from exposure to the cold. Two of the victims were in Gaza City, while another child died in Khan Yunis in the south of the Strip.

Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City confirmed the deaths of nine-year-old Hadeel al-Masri and infant Taim al-Khawaja, who was only several months old. In the south, Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis reported that eight-month-old Rahaf Abu Jazar died in the Al-Mawasi tent encampment after being unable to withstand the freezing conditions.

With Israel’s bombardment leaving much of Gaza uninhabitable, thousands of families are now forced to live in tents and improvised shelters erected on cleared rubble. These fragile structures offer little protection against winter storms, turning rainfall and cold weather into deadly threats.

Civil defence spokesperson Mahmud Bassal said six people were killed when a house collapsed in the Bir al-Naja area of northern Gaza. In addition, four others died in separate incidents when walls collapsed under the pressure of heavy rain and strong winds.

In a statement, the civil defence agency said its teams had responded to emergency calls from 13 homes that collapsed due to the storm, most of them located in Gaza City and northern Gaza, areas that have suffered extensive destruction and lack basic infrastructure.

Palestinian officials and humanitarian groups warn that without urgent international intervention, including shelter, heating, and reconstruction support, more preventable deaths are likely as winter conditions worsen. The latest fatalities underscore the human cost of Gaza’s ongoing siege and devastation, where even the cold and rain have become instruments of suffering for an already traumatized population. (ILKHA)