Winter Storm Tragedy Highlights Gaza's Dire Shelter Crisis
Four Palestinians, including a 15-year-old girl, have died after walls collapsed onto their tents during a night of severe rainfall and powerful winds in Gaza. Hospital authorities confirmed the fatalities on Tuesday, 13 January 2026, underscoring the perilous living conditions for the territory's displaced population.
Details of the Fatalities
Gaza City's largest medical facility, Shifa hospital, received the casualties. The deceased were identified as two women, a teenage girl, and a 72-year-old man. In one incident in western Gaza City, a wall fell onto a woman's tent. Separately, along the Mediterranean shore, the other woman, the teenager, and the elderly man—all from the same family—were killed in another wall collapse. At least five other people were injured in this second incident.
Associated Press images from the central town of Zawaida on Tuesday morning showed inundated tents, with residents attempting to rebuild their waterlogged shelters in the aftermath of the storm.
'Our Situation is Dire': Voices from the Camps
Yasmin Shalha, a displaced mother of five from Beit Lahiya, described the terror of the previous night as her family slept. "The winds were very, very strong. The tent collapsed over us," she told the AP while stitching her torn shelter back together with a needle and thread. "As you can see, our situation is dire."
Mohamed al-Sawalha, a 72-year-old from Jabaliya refugee camp, voiced the despair felt by many. "It doesn't work neither in summer nor in winter," he said of the tent. "We left behind houses and buildings (with) doors that could be opened and closed. Now we live in a tent. Even sheep don't live like we do."
Underlying Crisis: Rubble, Shortages, and a Fragile Truce
The majority of Gaza's more than 2 million residents now live in makeshift tents, their homes destroyed during the devastating war that began on 7 October 2023. Despite a ceasefire being in effect since 10 October 2025, aid organisations consistently warn that not enough shelter materials are entering the territory. Israel's ban on caravans has exacerbated the shortage during the winter months.
Rescue workers now caution people against seeking shelter in damaged buildings, warning they could collapse. This is the third winter since the conflict started, and the population struggles against the cold amid chronic aid shortfalls.
The Hamas-run health ministry reported on Monday that at least six children, the youngest just seven days old, have died of hypothermia since the start of winter. The ministry also stated that 442 people have been killed by Israeli fire and their bodies brought to hospitals since the truce began over three months ago. The UN and independent experts generally view the ministry's casualty records as reliable.
