TUNIS, December 12. /TASS/. At least 12 people, including children, have died as a result of the storm and heavy rains in the Gaza Strip, the Al Hadath TV channel reported.
According to its information, at least 13 residential buildings collapsed in the enclave due to the bad weather. Civil defense teams continue to receive requests for assistance.
The storm flooded entire refugee camps, including one located in the Al-Mawasi humanitarian zone near the city of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. According to the TV channel, more than 27,000 tents for displaced persons were flooded or destroyed by strong winds. The storm also affected the market in Nuseirat in the central part of the enclave, the port area in the city of Gaza.
The Mediterranean storm Byron hit the Gaza Strip in the middle of the week. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) warned that the heavy rains were making already difficult living conditions worse and called for immediate simplification of access to humanitarian aid for the population of the Gaza Strip.
Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from Gaza, killing residents of Israeli border settlements and taking over 250 hostages, including women, children and the elderly. Hamas described its attack as retaliation for the aggressive actions taken by Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. In response, Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million Palestinians before the crisis, launching air strikes on Gaza as well as some parts of Lebanon and Syria before starting a ground operation in the Palestinian enclave. According to the latest data from the Gaza Health Ministry, more than 70,000 Palestinians have been killed in the enclave as a result of the fighting, over 171,000 have been injured.
On October 9, Israel and Hamas, with the mediation of Egypt, Qatar, the US, and Turkey, agreed to implement the first phase of the peace plan presented by US President Donald Trump. The ceasefire in Gaza came into effect on October 10.