Syrian refugees face chill in tents as winter storm brings snow to Middle East

Snow fell Wednesday across the Middle East as a powerful winter storm swept through the region, forcing Syrians who have fled their country’s civil war to huddle for warmth in refugee camps. The storm dumped rain and hail on Lebanon’s coast and heavy snows in the mountains and central Bekaa Valley, where gas stations, banks, schools and most shops closed. Near the town of Anjar in east Lebanon, men used brooms and sticks to try to clear the heavy snow from the tops of refugee tents, fearing the weight might cause the shelters to collapse. Inside the tents, adults could be seen huddling around the wood burning stoves to try to keep warm.

Refugees in informal settlements are very cold. Most of them are staying inside their tents to keep warm next to the heating stove.

UNHCR spokeswoman Lisa Abou Khaled told the BBC

Elsewhere, Palestinian authorities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip declared a state of emergency over the storm. An 8-month-old Palestinian infant in the Tulkarem refugee camp killed in a fire caused by a heating stove, Palestinian civil defense ministry spokesman Loae Bani Odeh said. Snow accumulated in the Golan Heights and northern Israel. Schools across Jerusalem closed ahead of a forecast warning of 25 centimeters of snowfall. In Syria, snow blanketed Qassioun Mountain, which overlooks Damascus.

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