At about 6 p.m. Sunday, a sand cliff in Deir al-Balah collapsed onto a tented shelter for displaced families, killing five Palestinians—including three children—and injuring several others, Gaza’s Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmoud Basal told Xinhua. The collapse, which came after heavy rains, was part of a series of weather‑related accidents that left tens of thousands of tents flooded and families homeless.
Xinhua Report
Xinhua reported that the cliff collapsed on the tents at a shelter center in central Gaza, with Basal saying the heavy rain had triggered the collapse. He noted that the deaths included three children and a woman, and that the incident followed a mild low‑pressure system that had caused around 70,000 tents to flood a day earlier. Basal added that rescue teams were actively searching for missing people and that several people, some seriously, had been injured.
AFP / Nampa.org Report
AFP, accessed through Nampa.org, also reported that Gaza’s rescue service said on Sunday that five people died—three children and two women—after heavy rains earlier in the day. The AFP source did not mention the number of tents flooded or the broader context of displaced families' living conditions, focusing only on the casualty figures and the timing of the incident.
Both outlets agree that the disaster occurred in Deir al-Balah, that heavy rainfall was a factor, and that five Palestinians lost their lives, including children. The accounts differ on the exact number of female victims (one woman reported by Xinhua vs. two women reported by AFP) and on the contextual detail about 70,000 tents being flooded—a detail provided only by Xinhua. No direct quotes from the rescue service are available in the AFP report, whereas Xinhua provided a statement from Basal, the Civil Defense spokesperson.
The incident highlights the precarious situation for displaced residents in Gaza, many of whom live in improvised shelters that are vulnerable to extreme weather. In the days leading up to the collapse, a low‑pressure weather system had drenched the strip, exacerbating already tight living conditions.
Rescue teams are continuing efforts to locate survivors and provide medical care for the injured. The incident has prompted calls from local authorities for better shelter infrastructure and stricter safety inspections of makeshift camps in the region.
International observers, including local Palestinian officials and humanitarian groups, have expressed concern over the safety of temporary housing in Gaza, noting that more robust structures could mitigate similar tragedies in the future.
Gaza’s local emergency services remain on alert for further weather‑related incidents, as the rainy season continues in the region.
