Five Palestinians killed as sand embankment collapses on Gaza tents

Gaza: Five Palestinians killed as sand embankment collapses on displacement tents

A sand embankment collapsed on tents sheltering displaced Palestinians in the Gaza Strip late on Sunday, killing three children and two women as severe weather battered the territory.

At least five other people were rescued with injuries by Civil Defence search-and-rescue teams at the makeshift camp in Deir al-Balah, where operations to locate missing people continued.

Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for the Palestinian Civil Defence in Gaza, said the massive sandy embankment and surrounding mounds of earth collapsed after a low-pressure weather system brought torrential rain and strong winds to the Strip over the weekend.

Two of those killed were identified as Mariam Nabhan and her son, Salah Nabhan. The other three were Reem al-Zain, Habiba al-Zain and Ibrahim al-Zain.

Weekend downpours flooded an estimated 70,000 temporary tents sheltering displaced families across Gaza, leaving thousands of people exposed to the elements.

Palestinians have blamed Israel’s genocide and ongoing siege for the worsening conditions facing displaced people.

“This is not simply the result of severe weather. It is the direct consequence of prolonged Israeli genocide, the widespread destruction of infrastructure, continued displacement, and the denial of essential humanitarian assistance and adequate shelter,” the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Saturday.

The ministry said nearly two million Palestinians were living in approximately 270,000 tents across Gaza in “appalling humanitarian conditions”.

It added that an estimated 60–85 percent of the tents were worn out and unfit for use, leaving more than 400,000 people exposed to “flooding, rainwater accumulation and coastal hazards”.

Hamas said Israel bore full responsibility for Sunday's “disaster”, citing continued restrictions on the entry of new tents, mobile homes and other shelter supplies.

“The tragedy is a direct result of the criminal policies imposed by the Zionist occupation on the Gaza Strip,” the group said on Sunday.

“The occupation has forced more than two million Palestinians to flee their homes, confining them to less than one-third of the Gaza Strip's territory, in overcrowded areas and shelters that lack even the most basic standards of safety and protection,” it added.

“This makes the recurrence of such incidents foreseeable amid the continued aggression, blockade and severe weather conditions.”

Israeli siege

Since Israel's genocide began in October 2023, Israeli forces have destroyed or damaged at least 92 percent of homes across Gaza, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Israeli forces dropped more than 200,000 tonnes of explosives during almost the first two years of the genocide, equivalent in total energy to approximately 13 Hiroshima-type nuclear bombs.

Almost the entire population of 2.2 million people has been displaced internally, often multiple times. At least 1.7 million people continue to shelter in makeshift camps.

A US-mediated ceasefire agreement in October 2025 was intended to halt Israel's genocide by ending the bombardment and lifting restrictions on humanitarian aid entering Gaza.

However, Israel has continued to carry out near-daily air strikes and demolitions of homes.

Israeli forces have killed nearly 1,600 Palestinians since the ceasefire took effect, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

The overall Palestinian death toll since the genocide began in October 2023 has reached at least 74,600, the ministry said. Thousands more people are missing and most are presumed dead under the rubble.

Israeli authorities have also continued to impose tight restrictions on the entry of aid and goods into Gaza, including essential food, medicines and shelter materials.