Gaza Under Fire and Flood: Intense Israeli Strikes Coincide with a Deadly Winter Storm

Gaza faced a dual onslaught this Monday morning as Israeli air and artillery strikes targeted multiple regions, while a severe winter storm devastated makeshift displacement camps. Military operations were concentrated in Rafah and Khan Younis in the south, the Bureij camp in the central district, and northeastern areas. Artillery shelling specifically hit the "Mawasi Rafah" region, alongside direct gunfire toward residential homes, further exacerbating the humanitarian catastrophe.

The environmental crisis has proven equally lethal, with at least two deaths reported due to extreme cold. Heavy rains and fierce winds caused hundreds of tents in Mawasi Khan Younis and Deir al-Balah to flood within minutes, destroying the meager food supplies and belongings of displaced families. Residents described scenes of absolute despair as children shivered from hypothermia in tents made of thin plastic sheets. Civil Defense teams have warned that the storm will persist through Monday evening, leaving over a million displaced people without any viable protection from the freezing elements.