Baby dies in Khan Younis due to cold weather
A nine-month-old girl has died due to the extreme cold in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, medical sources told our Al Jazeera Arabic colleagues.
Medics told the Reuters news agency that eight-month-old Rahaf Abu Jazar died of exposure to cold after water gathered in her family’s tent in Khan Younis amid the heavy rainfall.
Her mother, Hejar Abu Jazar, said she fed her daughter before they went to sleep. “When we woke up, we found the rain over her and the wind on her, and the girl died of cold suddenly,” she told Reuters. “There was nothing wrong with her. Oh, the fire in my heart, the fire in my heart, oh my life,” she said in tears.
According to Gaza’s Civil Defence, most tent camps across the enclave were flooded due to the storm.
Displaced Gaza families struggle as winter storm hits
After a night of relentless rain, Arafat al-Ghandour and his wife, Nour, finally exhaled in relief as the morning sun emerged, if only briefly, over the soaked displacement camp. The couple, parents of five, live in a worn tent riddled with holes. They spent the night battling water pouring in from every direction.
Arafat, 39, shares the cramped space, no larger than eight square metres (86sq feet), with 15 family members, including his elderly parents, his sister and her family, and his brother’s wife and children. The conditions, he says, are “inhumane”. “All night I was plugging the holes with rags and plastic bags,” Arafat told Al Jazeera. “I haven’t slept yet. And they say the storm hasn’t really started.”
In the early morning, the family hurried to spread their drenched clothes, blankets and belongings in the sunlight to dry.
People walk past a pool of water in the as-Saftawi neighbourhood, west of Jabalia city, in the northern Gaza Strip, on December 10
Israel sets out precautions as worst of Storm Bryon to hit
Over the past 24 hours, we’ve seen one alert in Israel after another, advising residents, especially in coastal cities and cities in the south in the Negev, to take precautions, warning of possible flooding.
Now, remember these are cities that are not damaged. The infrastructure there works, there are emergency responders, there are plans in place and money that can be pumped into helping people evacuate if they need to, but nonetheless, there’s a lot of concern that this storm is going to be heavy.
It’s expected to bring the worst downpours on Thursday into Friday.
A man drives a car next to a pool of water in the al-Saftawi neighbourhood, west of Jabalia city, in the northern Gaza Strip on December 10
The Byron Storm is not just a weather event for many people. It’s colliding with displacement, homelessness, exhaustion, trauma and a collapsed health system.
There used to be rubble- and sewage-filled roads. Now, those are flooded with rainwater mixed with sewage because of the destruction of infrastructure, making it very difficult for people to survive these difficult conditions.
