Gaza families struggle to recover from days of torrential rains that killed 12 people

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Palestinians in Gaza struggled to recover Tuesday from torrential rains that battered the enclave for days, flooding camps for the displaced, collapsing buildings already badly damaged in the two-year war and leaving at least 12 dead, including a two-week-old baby.

The downpour, which dumped more than 150 milliliters (9 inches) of rain on some parts of Gaza over the past week, turned dirt lanes to mud and flooded tents in camps for displaced people.

The Gaza Health Ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, said Tuesday the two-week-old died of hypothermia as a result of the weather. The baby was brought to the hospital a few days ago and was transferred to intensive care but died on Monday.

In Gaza City, a man died Tuesday after a home already damaged during Israeli strikes, collapsed because of the heavy rainfall, according to Shifa Hospital.

Members of the al-Hosari family said 30 people lived in the building, but just nine were home when it collapsed. The man who was killed was a worker who had come to fix the walls, they said. Five people were injured.

The Health Ministry said the remaining 10 people were killed last week, also from buildings collapsing from the rain and heavy winds.

Emergency workers warned people not to congregate in damaged buildings due to concerns of collapse, though so much of the territory has been reduced to rubble, there are few places to escape the rain. In July, the United Nations Satellite Center estimated that almost 80% of the buildings in Gaza have been destroyed or damaged.

“When we hear the news that there is a storm, our whole lives change, we start thinking about where to stay, to go, where to put our mattresses and blankets, and where to keep our children safe and warm,” said Mohammed Gharableh, a father displaced from the southern city of Rafah.

“During every storm like this, water penetrates our tents, and our mattresses and blankets get soaked,” he added.

In Israel, areas near Gaza received between 60 mm to 160 mm (2 to 6 inches) of rain in the past week, according to the Israel Meteorological Service, which in some cases is more than twice the average amount of rain for this time of year.

Aid groups say despite two months of a ceasefire, not enough shelter material has been getting into Gaza to help Palestinians deal with the winter. Recently released Israeli military figures suggest it hasn’t met the ceasefire stipulation of allowing 600 trucks of aid into Gaza a day, though Israel disputes that finding.

The vast majority of Gaza’s 2 million people have been displaced, and most people live in vast tent camps stretching along the coast, or set up among the shells of damaged buildings. The buildings lack adequate flooding infrastructure and people use cesspits dug near tents as toilets.

The Israeli military body in charge of coordinating aid to Gaza, called COGAT, said close to 270,000 tents and tarps have entered Gaza over the past few months as well as winter items, shelter equipment, and sanitation supplies.

But some aid groups disputed the figures and said more supplies, especially winter items, are desperately needed.

Shelter Cluster, an international coalition of aid providers led by the Norwegian Refugee Council, last week said it has tracked just 68,000 tents that have entered Gaza via the U.N., non-governmental organizations, and various countries. Many of the tents aren’t properly insulated for winter, it says.

Associated Press writer Melanie Lidman in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

Raafat Alwan, 32, right, and his family stand outside their tent as their clothes lie over a tarp to dry in a makeshift camp for displaced Palestinians set up on the beach during a cold morning in Gaza City, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A bird flies over a damaged tent following recent days of rain in a makeshift camp for displaced Palestinians set up on the beach in Gaza City, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Wrapped in a blanket, Raafat Alwan, 32, stands outside his tent with his family in a makeshift camp for displaced Palestinians set up on the beach during a cold morning in Gaza City, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Alaa al-Hosari sits on the rubble of his house that collapsed, killing, according to Al-Shafa Hospital officials, at least one person and leaving several others injured in Gaza City, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Members of the Al-Hosari family check the rubble looking for their belongings after their house collapsed, killing, according to Al-Shafa Hospital officials, at least one person and leaving several others injured in Gaza City, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — With the Brown University shooter still on the loose Tuesday, police fanned out to Providence schools to reassure parents, kids and teachers as investigators pushed for new evidence that might help them crack the case.

Here's a look at what to know about the attack and the search:

Police have released five videos of the man suspected in Saturday's attack in an engineering building classroom, where two students were killed and nine were wounded. None of the videos showed the man's face, which was either turned away or masked. The FBI described the suspect as stocky and about 5 feet, 8 inches (173 centimeters) tall.

The gunman fired more than 40 rounds from a 9 mm handgun, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the investigation publicly.

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha told MS Now that an “enhanced photograph” would soon be released. “We have a good picture of the gunman’s route, but it’s not complete yet,” he said.

Authorities on Sunday released a person of interest after determining he wasn't behind the attack, which happened in a first-floor classroom where students were cramming for an exam. Providence police spokeswoman Kristy dosReis said the man's detention didn't affect the ongoing investigation.

Tensions remain high in Providence. Ten state troopers were assigned to support the local police sent to beef up security at schools, district Superintendent Javier Montañez said.

The attack and the shooter’s escape also have raised questions about campus security, including a lack of security cameras, and led to calls for better locks on campus doors. But some said what they called the real issue needs to be addressed.

“The issue isn’t the doors, it’s the guns,” said Zoe Kass, a senior who fled the engineering building Saturday. “And all of this, like, ‘Oh, the doors need to be locked.’ I get it, parents are scared. But any of us could have opened the door for the guy if the doors had been locked.”

Authorities have said that one reason they lacked video of the shooter was because Brown’s engineering building doesn’t have many cameras.

Only one of the wounded students had been released as of Sunday, Brown President Christina Paxson said. One was in critical condition and the other seven were in critical but stable condition. Their conditions hadn’t worsened as of Monday, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said.

One of the wounded, 18-year-old freshman Spencer Yang of New York City, told the New York Times and the Brown Daily Herald there was a scramble after the gunman entered the room. Many students ran toward the front, but Yang said he wound up on the ground and was shot in the leg.

The students who died were MukhammadAziz Umurzokov, an 18-year-old freshman from Brandermill, Virginia, and Ella Cook, a 19-year-old sophomore from a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama. Umurzokov was an aspiring neurosurgeon and Cook was a student leader of Brown's campus Republicans.

Jacob Spears, 18, a freshman from Evans, Georgia, was shot in the stomach, “but through sheer adrenaline and courage, he managed to run outside, where he was aided by others,” according to a GoFundMe site organized for him.

Levi Neuwirth, a Brown senior, said anxiety is high on campus. But he said students and the rest of the Brown community have been supporting each other and displaying extra kindness.

“Campus is on edge, mourning, grieving, processing, all of the above that folks would expect,” said Neuwirth, of Wallkill, New York. “But I would really highlight that the major sentiment I feel and I know many of my peers feel is a strong sense of community, of love. We have each other’s backs.”

Whittle reported from Portland, Maine. Contributing were Associated Press reporters Kimberlee Kruesi, Amanda Swinhart, Robert F. Bukaty, Matt O'Brien and Jennifer McDermott in Providence; Michael Casey in Boston; Heather Hollingsworth in Mission, Kansas; Kathy McCormack and Holly Ramer in Concord, New Hampshire; Christopher Weber in Los Angeles; and Alanna Durkin Richer, Mike Balsamo and Eric Tucker in Washington.

A community member stands and reflects in front of flowers placed at a makeshift memorial in front of Brown University's Van Wickle gates, in Providene, R.I., two days after a shooting took place on Brown University's campus, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (Lily Speredelozzi/The Sun Chronicle via AP)

A memorial of flowers and signs lay outside the Barus and Holley engineering building at Brown University, on Hope Street in Providence, R.I., on Tuesday, Dec 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt OBrien)

A community member looks at flowers, notes and mementos in a makeshift memorial display sitting in front of Brown University's Van Wickle gates, in Providence, R.I., two days after a shooting took place on the university's campus, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (Lily Speredelozzi/The Sun Chronicle via AP)

This combo image made with photos provided by the FBI and the Providence, Rhode Island, Police Department shows a person of interest in the shooting that occurred at Brown University in Providence, R.I., Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. (FBI/Providence Police Department via AP)

Members of the FBI Evidence Response Team search for evidence near the campus of Brown University, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

A police vehicle is parked at an intersection near crime scene tape at Brown University, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Providence, R.I., following a Saturday shooting at the university. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Passers-by walk past crime scene tape at an entrance to Brown University, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Providence, R.I., following the Saturday, Dec. 13, shooting at the university. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Police tape off hotel rooms where the person of interest was arrested in a shooting, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Coventry, R.I. (AP Photo/Kimberlee Kruesi)

People hold candles during a vigil, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Providence, R.I., for those injured or killed during the Saturday shooting on Brown University campus. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

A bouquet of flowers rests on snow, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, on the campus of Brown University not far from where a shooting took place, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)