Gaza city: Five Palestinians were killed, including women and children, and others were wounded following the collapse of a home in the Sheikh Radwan Neighborhood, Northern Gaza City, due to a weather depression, as reported by the spokesman for the Civil Defense in Gaza, Mahmoud Basal, to Qatar News Agency (QNA).
According to Qatar News Agency, Basal stated that the building had previously been shelled by fighter jets during an Israeli onslaught and was in a decrepit condition. A Palestinian family was forced to inhabit this home after the aggression ended due to a shortage of alternate shelters. The building ominously collapsed due to severe weather conditions gripping the Gaza Strip.
All five of the deceased Palestinians were from one family: a man, his wife, two daughters, and a female child, who all perished under the rubble. Basal noted that civil defense personnel exerted efforts for seven hours using primitive capabilities and successfully rescued five other family members, who were subsequently hospitalized.
Basal further explained that the drastic drop in temperature recently affecting the Gaza enclave has led to significant humanitarian catastrophes, with previously damaged buildings collapsing after being in a dilapidated state. Around 17 homes fully collapsed during the recent low-pressure systems, with approximately 70 other homes partially collapsing, resulting in the death of 13 Palestinians.
He continued that thousands of partially damaged residential buildings in the Gaza Strip remain at risk of collapse. These structures house mostly displaced persons forced to reside in them after their homes were destroyed by the occupying army. The consecutive low-pressure systems, accompanied by strong winds and heavy rains, pose a danger to their lives, causing structurally unsound buildings to collapse on residents.
The Civil Defense, having lost essential equipment due to persistent targeting by Israeli occupation forces, remains unable to respond effectively to distress calls from Palestinians with collapsing homes. Personnel are compelled to use primitive, manually operated tools to rescue individuals from the rubble, Basal cautioned.
Basal highlighted that Palestinians and families in the enclave have limited options due to the extensive devastation inflicted on residential neighborhoods during the war. He emphasized that displaced tents are a hazardous alternative for Palestinians amid the harsh weather conditions plaguing the Strip, compounded by a shortage of essential protective tents against stormwater and cold weather.
Due to this weather depression, approximately 90% of shelter centers were entirely submerged, with thousands of families losing their temporary shelters as a consequence. Clothes and covers have degraded, further exacerbating their suffering, Basal warned.
He called for global action to assist displaced Palestinians, rebuild what has been destroyed by Israeli occupation forces, and deploy temporary caravans to ensure that Palestinians are not forced to live in decrepit homes. These caravans could serve as alternatives to tents, which cannot withstand the harsh weather conditions the enclave faces, Basal noted.