Four children among five killed in Gaza floods
A sand embankment collapsed onto a displacement camp in Gaza early Thursday, killing five people including four children, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry and civil defence teams. The incident occurred in the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis after heavy overnight rain saturated the ground. Rescue workers dug through wet sand with their hands and shovels to reach victims. The collapse came a day after storms flooded tens of thousands of tents across the territory, leaving displaced families exposed to freezing temperatures without adequate shelter or drainage.
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- ✓ Five people were killed when a sand embankment collapsed onto tents in the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis, Gaza.
- ✓ Four of the five victims were children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry and civil defence teams.
- ✓ The collapse occurred early Thursday after heavy overnight rain saturated the ground.
- ✓ Storms on Wednesday flooded tens of thousands of displacement tents across Gaza.
What changed
Five people, including four children, were confirmed killed when a rain-saturated sand embankment collapsed onto tents in Al-Mawasi, Khan Younis, marking the first fatal structural collapse linked to this week's floods.
Live updates
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Four children among five killed as sand embankment collapses on Gaza tents
A sand embankment collapsed onto a displacement camp in Gaza early Thursday, killing five people including four children, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry and civil defence teams. The incident occurred in the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis after heavy overnight rain saturated the ground. Rescue workers dug through wet sand with their hands and shovels to reach victims. The collapse came a day after storms flooded tens of thousands of tents across the territory, leaving displaced families exposed to freezing temperatures without adequate shelter or drainage.
Why it matters
Gaza's 2.3 million residents have been repeatedly displaced by Israeli military operations, forcing most into makeshift tent camps on sandy, low-lying ground with no infrastructure. Winter rains have turned these camps into flood zones, compounding a humanitarian crisis where heating fuel, winter clothing, and medical supplies are severely restricted. The UN has warned that over half a million children face the combined threats of flooding, hypothermia, and disease this winter.
What is confirmed
- Five people were killed when a sand embankment collapsed onto tents in the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis, Gaza.
- Four of the five victims were children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry and civil defence teams.
- The collapse occurred early Thursday after heavy overnight rain saturated the ground.
- Storms on Wednesday flooded tens of thousands of displacement tents across Gaza.
Still unconfirmed
- A 9-month-old baby froze to death in Gaza amid the cold and flooding conditions.
- An Israeli airstrike on Nasser Hospital killed six people, including a surgeon and a 13-year-old boy, on Thursday.
What to watch next
- Whether Israel authorizes entry of winter supplies including tents, heaters, and fuel as requested by the Board of Peace and UN agencies
- Extent of additional flooding or collapses as winter rains continue across displacement camps
- Health Ministry updates on casualties from both the embankment collapse and reported hospital strike
confidence 92%Sources used for this update (14)
- www.aljazeera.com — Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera
- english.aawsat.com — Latest World News
- news.un.org — UN News | Global perspective Human stories
- www.yahoo.com — Yahoo
- Al Jazeera — Floods in Gaza leave tens of thousands without shelter
- Al Jazeera — ‘Tents don’t protect us’: Rains flood displaced Palestinians in Gaza
- Reuters — Four killed in Gaza after sand embankment collapses on to tents
- The Guardian — Witnesses recount struggle to save people buried in ‘horrifying’ Gaza landslide
- The Jerusalem Post — Board of Peace calls on Israel to authorize winter supplies delivery into Gaza after floods
- www.bbc.co.uk — Four killed in Gaza after embankment collapses onto tents, health ministry says - BBC News
- plan-international.org — Over half a million children in Gaza face winter flooding, cold and unsafe shelter
- www.clickorlando.com — Israeli strike on Gaza hospital kills 6 people, including a doctor and a child, Health Ministry says
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