ICSPR: Gaza Under the Storm—Collapses, Tents Uprooted, and Deadly Cold Amid the Continuation of Slow Genocide

Date: 13 January 2025

Urgent Press Statement
ICSPR: Gaza Under the Storm—Collapses, Tents Uprooted, and Deadly Cold Amid the Continuation of Slow Genocide

The International Commission to Support Palestinian People’s Rights (ICSPR) is closely and gravely monitoring the escalating humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip, where severe winter storms and violent winds coincide with the continued Israeli aggression and violations of the ceasefire. This has led to the collapse of a number of homes already damaged by bombardment, the uprooting of hundreds of tents, the disruption of humanitarian operations, and the prevention of access to essential assistance needed to confront the winter season.

ICSPR affirms that what is unfolding constitutes a crime with all its elements, combining systematic destruction, forced displacement, the deprivation of civilians of humanitarian aid, and leaving them to face cold, wind, and bombardment simultaneously.

According to data recorded by the Ministry of Health in Gaza, ICSPR notes the death of a 7-day-old infant and a 4-year-old child due to extreme cold, raising the total number of child deaths since the beginning of winter to eight cases. Meanwhile, total fatalities resulting from building collapses caused by strong winds and the weather system have reached 28, including three deaths this evening: Mohammed Al-Abd Mohammed Hamouda (72) southwest of Gaza, Duaa Husni Mansour Hamouda (40), and Wafaa Shreer (33) near Palestine Stadium. In addition, during the past 24 hours there were seven new fatalities and four injuries, with victims still trapped under rubble and on roads due to the inability of civil defense teams to reach them.

ICSPR indicates that the total number of victims of genocide since the start of the Israeli aggression on Gaza on 7 October 2023 has reached 71,419 killed and 171,318 injured. Since the ceasefire of 11 October 2025, the number of fatalities has reached 442 killed and 1,240 injured, with 697 bodies recovered. These figures reflect the scale of the humanitarian crime and genocide, particularly against children, the elderly, women, and displaced persons.

ICSPR documents that violent winds and severe cold have led to the uprooting and flooding of displaced persons’ tents in Mawasi Khan Younis, the beach areas, Gaza Port, Deir al-Balah, and western Gaza City, leaving thousands of families exposed in the open. This has been accompanied by the spread of respiratory diseases and serious health complications, especially among children, the elderly, and women, while access to humanitarian aid, medical supplies, medicines, heavy equipment, fuel, caravans, and winter-appropriate tents continues to be obstructed and prevented.

ICSPR stresses that these practices constitute a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and the Fourth Geneva Convention, particularly Article 53, which prohibits the destruction of property and mandates the protection of civilians during disasters. They also represent a clear breach of the ceasefire, as the occupation continues bombardment, demolition, and obstruction of aid delivery, exacerbating the humanitarian situation and exposing displaced persons to cold, hunger, and disease as part of a deliberate policy of slow killing, starvation, and displacement. Gaza is not facing merely a weather depression and strong winds, but rather the continuation of a slow and systematic genocide, leaving children, women, and the elderly exposed in the open amid shameful international silence. Every minute of delay means more suffering and death, and every day of international silence deepens the humanitarian catastrophe.

Accordingly, ICSPR calls on the international community, states, mediators, United Nations agencies, and humanitarian organizations to:

• Work to secure an immediate and comprehensive cessation of bombardment, targeting of civilians, demolition operations, and destruction, and to ensure the occupation’s full compliance with a complete ceasefire.

• Immediately and unconditionally open all crossings to allow the entry of shelter materials, heating supplies, fuel, medical equipment, caravans, and winter-appropriate tents.

• Provide urgent international protection for civilians and displaced persons, including the formation of a Gaza Strip administration committee and the deployment of stabilization forces to ensure an end to occupation violations, strengthen the humanitarian response, and support reconstruction.

• Initiate urgent international legal action to hold the occupation accountable for crimes of systematic destruction, exposing civilians to slow death, and obstructing humanitarian operations before international courts.

• Implement immediate health and humanitarian interventions to prevent a potential epidemic disaster in displacement camps caused by cold, flooding, and harsh living conditions.