Storm killed five in Gaza as sandstone slab collapsed onto tents

Tents located near an elevated soil mound were crushed reportedly due to the storm's heavy rains, killing five people in the central Gaza Strip.

"A sandy embankment collapsed onto tents housing displaced people at a shelter centre south of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip," said Mahmud Bassal, spokesperson for Gaza's civil defence.

"Rescue teams are continuing to search for missing people," he said. A video circulating on social media showed dozens of men at the scene, some trying to lift a large stone slab while others dug beneath it with shovels.

The agency further warned "displaced people against setting up tents or remaining near sand masses and elevated soil mounds, particularly during periods of rainfall, as these pose a real threat to their lives" and called on humanitarian organisations to provide the necessary equipment.

Hundreds flee camps after 70,000 tents flooded

Thousands of displaced people had their tents flooded by the heavy rain on Saturday, leaving them without shelter in war-devastated Gaza.

In a statement, the Hamas-run government media office said that about "70,000 tents sheltering tens of thousands of displaced people were flooded on the first day" of rains.

It also noted the "collapse of dozens of cracked walls and roofs, which caused injuries," some critical, in various areas of the tiny territory.

During the weekend, hundreds of displaced families started fleeing camps in parts of Gaza City and other parts of the territory after floods destroyed their shelters.

A fragile ceasefire came into effect in Gaza on 10 October 2025, after two years of war that erupted following the unprecedented attack carried out by Hamas on Israel on 7 October 2023.

The war left most of the population displaced and often living in tents or other makeshift shelters as bombs destroyed huge swathes of the territory.

The Israeli army continues airstrikes and ground operations in spite of the ceasefire agreement reached with Egyptian, Qatari and US mediation.