15 Dead as Gaza Winter Flooding Deepens Humanitarian Crisis in 2025

Freezing rain is claiming lives where bombs once fell. At least 15 people, including three babies, have died from hypothermia this month as winter storms lashed the Gaza Strip. On December 29, 2025, displaced families in Khan Younis find themselves battling ankle-deep water and collapsing shelters.

Gaza Winter Flooding Humanitarian Crisis: Survival in the Ruins

According to AP and Reuters, overnight rainfall has turned displacement camps into muddy swamps. Palestinians, many of whom have been displaced for over two years, are desperately using tin cans and shovels to drain water from their flimsy tents. The United Nations estimates that nearly 80 percent of buildings in the enclave have been destroyed, leaving no alternative but these vulnerable makeshift shelters.

"The tent flew away. We don’t know where to go," said Majdoleen Tarabein, a mother displaced from Rafah. Families are seen wringing out sodden blankets by hand, but with temperatures plunging and no dry ground in sight, the risk of further deaths remains high.

Aid Shortfalls Amidst a Fragile Ceasefire

While a ceasefire is technically in place, the humanitarian situation is deteriorating. The Palestinian Health Ministry reports that 414 people have been killed since the truce began, bringing the total death toll to at least 71,266. Although Israel claims that 4,200 trucks entered Gaza last week, international aid groups like the Shelter Cluster emphasize that the scale of delivery doesn't match the overwhelming need.