Baby dies of exposure as torrential rains flood Gaza tents

Torrential rain is sweeping across the Gaza Strip, flooding hundreds of tents sheltering families displaced by two years of war, and leading to the death of a baby girl due to exposure, local Hamas-linked health officials say.

Medics say eight-month-old Rahaf Abu Jazar died of exposure after water inundated her family’s tent in Khan Younis, in the south of the enclave.

People mourn the baby Rahaf Abu Jazar, who lost her life due to cold weather conditions in Khan Yunis, Gaza.
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Weeping and holding Rahaf in her hands, her mother Hejar Abu Jazar said she had fed the girl before they went to sleep.

“When we woke up, we found the rain over her and the wind on her, and the girl died of cold suddenly,” she tells Reuters.

“There was nothing wrong with her. Oh, the fire in my heart, the fire in my heart, oh my life,” she says.

At a tent encampment in Khan Younis, some men used shovels to remove water and dirt blocking access to shelters, while others prepared sandbags to protect tents against heavy winds and rain.

“Look at this. How am I supposed to let the children sleep? Tell me how?” says Umm Mohammed Abd Elaal as she checked on her tent, toppled by the winds.

“There’s nothing (we can do). The bedding gets soaked with water, and we need two or three days to dry it before we can sleep on it again. These tents don’t protect from rain or strong weather at all,” says her neighbor, Ahmed Salem.