The humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip deteriorated sharply late last week during Storm Byron, which brought heavy rainfall and strong winds.Widely circulated video on social media showed Palestinian Civil Defence teams scrabbling through the rubble of fallen buildings, trying to rescue people trapped beneath.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listBut why did those homes fall? And what has the impact been on people in Gaza? Here’s what we know:What is happening in Gaza?Many damaged homes in Gaza collapsed during the recent storm, trapping people in their rubble.At times, parts of buildings and walls fell onto nearby tents where displaced Palestinians were living, compounding the risks for civilians already enduring precarious conditions.Thousands of Gaza families are sheltering in structurally compromised buildings, having lost their own homes during the war, with no safe alternatives available.The heavy rainfall of Storm Byron turned these weakened structures into direct threats as floodwaters inundated tens of thousands of tents.Why are these houses falling?It’s not just the rain that caused the collapses, rather it is because two years of intense bombing during Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza have made these structures unstable.In addition, Israel has imposed a siege on Gaza that prevents the entry of any building materials people can use to fix their homes.Thousands of residential buildings were damaged by direct strikes, nearby bombardments and ground incursions, leaving cracks in columns and foundations, separation of loa …
