Tent fire in Deir al-Balah kills two siblings, injures mother and infant

2026-02-12 - 08:05

Two Palestinian siblings lost their lives Wednesday evening when a fire consumed their family tent in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza. Health sources confirmed that Shahd Mahmoud al-Medhun, 16, died at the scene, while her two-year-old brother Adam succumbed to critical injuries after being rushed to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital. Mother and Infant Injured The children's 43-year-old mother, Enam al-Medhun, sustained burns and injuries alongside one-year-old Sidra. Both remain under medical care at the hospital. Witnesses reported that the blaze ignited while the mother was preparing food for her children, rapidly spreading through the flammable tent structure and extending to an adjacent shelter, completely destroying both. Everyday Hazards of Displacement The tragedy underscores the precarious existence facing hundreds of thousands of Gazans displaced by Israel's ongoing military campaign. With residential infrastructure extensively damaged or destroyed, displaced families crowd into makeshift tent camps lacking even basic safety standards. Chronic electricity blackouts and severe fuel shortages force reliance on primitive cooking and heating methods, rendering such shelters tinderboxes. The absence of proper fire suppression equipment in these temporary encampments transforms routine domestic tasks into life-threatening hazards.