Another building damaged by Israel’s bombing campaign in Gaza collapsed on Tuesday, killing at least one Palestinian, as storms and continued Israeli aid restrictions are adding to the misery for the civilians living among the rubble.
According to Gaza’s Civil Defense, the building collapsed due to heavy rain in the Shati refugee camp west of Gaza City, and the body of one Palestinian was found under the rubble. Several injured Palestinians were also recovered at the scene.
Health authorities in Gaza said that a two-week-old baby had died of the cold the day before. The Health Ministry said that the baby, Khalil Abu al-Khair, was “admitted to the hospital two days ago and placed in intensive care, but passed away yesterday.”
Last week, at least 14 people, including three children, died in Gaza due to severe weather. Several buildings collapsed, and some died of the cold due to their tents being flooded with water, including an eight-month-old baby.
The aid group Oxfam said on Saturday that tents flooded with water left Palestinians “wading through sewage, mud and debris with no proper shelter” and added that the conditions are a “direct result of the systematic obstruction of aid” as Israel continues imposing restrictions on tents and other shelters entering Gaza.
The US and Israel aren’t allowing reconstruction to take place in the Hamas-controlled side of Gaza, where virtually all of the civilians in the territory are living. Israel has also continued its attacks on Palestinians in Gaza in violation of the ceasefire deal, killing at least 393 and injuring 1,074 since the truce was supposed to go into effect, according to the Health Ministry.
