Tornadoes in Texas and Mississippi kill 2 and injure 6 as severe weather system moves east

HOUSTON (AP) — A strong storm system threatened to whip up tornadoes in parts of the U.S. Southeast on Sunday, a day after severe weather claimed at least two lives as twisters touched down in Texas and Mississippi.

Strong storms moving across the Southeast are expected to continue producing “gusty, damaging winds,” hail and tornadoes through Sunday, National Weather Service meteorologist Frank Pereira said. So far, the line of severe weather has led to about 40 tornado reports from southeastern Texas to Alabama, Pereira said, but those reports remain unconfirmed until surveys of damage are completed.

“It’s not unheard of but it is fairly uncommon to have a severe weather outbreak of this magnitude this late in the year,” he said. The storms will continue to slide east until they eventually move offshore, meaning severe weather risks will dwindle into Sunday evening.

On Saturday, one person died in the Liverpool area, located south of Houston, Texas. Four people suffered injuries that were not considered critical, according to Madison Polston of the Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office. Officials knew of around 10 damaged homes but were working to determine the extent of the damage, Polston said.

In the Houston area, National Weather Service crews planned to conduct surveys Sunday for at least five tornados that hit north and south of the city on Saturday.

In Mississippi, one person died in Adams County and two people were injured in Franklin County, according to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.

The National Weather Service said two tornadoes hit around Bude and the city of Brandon, ripping roofs from several buildings.

It appeared at least six tornadoes touched down in the Houston area, though more may be discovered when crews go out to survey the damage. There was damage in the area from both tornadoes and straight-line winds, according to Josh Lichter, meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

North of Houston, mobile homes were damaged or destroyed in Katy and Porter Heights, where the doors of a fire station were blown in, the weather service said.

Storm damage has been reported in the northern Alabama town of Athens, just northwest of Huntsville. A National Weather Service survey team was expected to begin assessing damage Sunday morning, said meteorologist Chelly Amin.

Also Sunday, the National Weather Service issued severe thunderstorm warnings across portions of the Deep South as the line of storms barreled east through Alabama, Georgia and into South Carolina. Wind gusts of 60 mph (97 kph) were expected in the Spartanburg, South Carolina, area. Damage to trees and powerlines was expected in a number of counties, while a tornada watch was in effect for some parts of the state.

At 9 a.m. Sunday ET, nearly 65,000 customers were without power in Mississippi, down from 93,000 around 1 a.m., according to electric utility tracking website PowerOutage.us. Some 54,000 customers were without power in Georgia; 36,000, Alabama; 20,000, Louisiana; and 13,000, Texas.

Damage from a storm through that rolled through the night before is seen at the heart of downtown on Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in Athens, Ala. (AP Photo/Lance George)

Damage from a storm through that rolled through the night before is seen at the heart of downtown on Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in Athens, Ala. (AP Photo/Lance George)

People view damage from a storm through that rolled through the night before is seen at the heart of downtown on Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in Athens, Ala. (AP Photo/Lance George)

Damage from a storm through that rolled through the night before is seen at the heart of downtown on Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in Athens, Ala. (AP Photo/Lance George)

Damage from a storm through that rolled through the night before is seen at the heart of downtown on Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in Athens, Ala. (AP Photo/Lance George)

Damage from a storm through that rolled through the night before is seen at the heart of downtown on Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in Athens, Ala. (AP Photo/Lance George)

Damage from a storm through that rolled through the night before is seen at the heart of downtown on Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in Athens, Ala. (AP Photo/Lance George)

A military helicopter that was toppled from its perch in a military veterans park during a violent storm is seen on Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in Athens, Alabama. (AP Photo/Lance George)

First responders work to free a victim after a tree fell on a house in Natchez, Miss., Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024. (Thomas Graning/The Natchez Democrat via AP)

Bystanders watch as first responders work to free a victim after a tree fell on a house in Natchez, Miss., Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024. (Thomas Graning/The Natchez Democrat via AP)

Bystanders hug as first responders work to free a victim after a tree fell on a house in Natchez, Miss., Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024. (Thomas Graning/The Natchez Democrat via AP)

The roof of a residential home is seen just after it was destroyed by a tornado that hit nearby on Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024, in Alvin, Texas. (Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Alyssa Duncin, 26, walks with her daughter Kingsley Duncin, 3, through the family home just after it was destroyed by a tornado that hit nearby on Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024, in Alvin, Texas. (Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle via AP)

J.C. Betanzos, 11, looks for items from his sister's business and things his deceased mother gave them that blew away during a tornado, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024, in Katy, Texas. (Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Debris sticks onto trees following a tornado that went through Katy, Texas, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024. (Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Debris block a portion of Porter Lane after strong thunderstorms pass through the Greater Houston region, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024, in Porter Heights. (Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Men work to remove debris and cover a damaged roof after strong thunderstorms pass through the Greater Houston region, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024, in Porter Heights. (Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Metal roofing sheets are seen on trees after strong thunderstorms pass through the Greater Houston region, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024, in Porter Heights. (Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via AP)

People remove debris from a street after strong thunderstorms pass through the Greater Houston region, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024, in Porter Heights. (Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Ricardo Rodriguez uses a chain saw to remove debris from a woman's home after strong thunderstorms pass through the Greater Houston region, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024, in Porter Heights. (Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Neighbors move debris from a woman's home after strong thunderstorms pass through the Greater Houston region, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024, in Porter Heights. (Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Saul Rodriguez uses a chain saw to remove debris atop a car from a woman's home after strong thunderstorms pass through the Greater Houston region, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024, in Porter Heights. (Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Sheet metal from a nearby home is seen after strong thunderstorms pass through the Greater Houston region, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024, in Porter Heights. (Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Saul Rodriguez uses a chain saw to remove debris atop a car from a woman's home after strong thunderstorms pass through the Greater Houston region, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024, in Porter Heights. (Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via AP)

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — A fourth infant has died of hypothermia in the Gaza Strip, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced by nearly 15 months of war are huddled in tents along the rainy, windswept coast as winter arrives.

Jomaa al-Batran, 20 days old, was found with his head as “cold as ice” when his parents woke up Sunday, his father, Yehia, said. The baby's twin brother, Ali, was moved to the intensive care unit of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.

Their father said the twins were born one month premature and spent just a day in the nursery at the hospital, which like other health centers in Gaza has been overwhelmed and is only partially functioning.

He said medics told their mother to keep the newborns warm, but it was impossible because they live in a tent and temperatures regularly drop below 10 degrees Celsius (50 degrees Fahrenheit) at night.

“We are eight people, and we only have four blankets,” al-Batran said as he cradled his son’s pale body. He described drops of dew seeping through the tent cover overnight. “Look at his color because (of) the cold. Do you see how frozen he is?”

Children, some of them barefoot, stood outdoors and watched him mourn. The shrouded infant was laid at the feet of an imam, barely larger than his shoes. After prayers, the imam took off his ankle-length coat and wrapped it around the father.

“Feel warm, my brother,” he said.

At least three other babies have died from the cold in recent weeks, according to local health officials.

A Palestinian woman was shot and killed in her home in the volatile West Bank town of Jenin, where the Palestinian Authority this month launched a rare campaign against militants.

The family of Shatha al-Sabbagh, a 22-year-old journalism student, said she was killed by a sniper with the Palestinian security forces late Saturday while she was with her mother and two small children. They said there were no militants in the area at the time.

A statement from the Palestinian security forces said she was shot by “outlaws” — the term it uses for local militants battling Israeli forces. The security forces condemned the shooting and vowed to investigate it.

The Western-backed Palestinian Authority exercises limited self-rule in parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. It is unpopular among Palestinians, largely because it cooperates with Israel on security matters, even as Israel accuses it of incitement and of generally turning a blind eye to militancy.

In a statement, the al-Sabbagh family accused the Palestinian security forces of having become “repressive tools that practice terrorism against their own people instead of protecting their dignity and standing up to the (Israeli) occupation.”

The Hamas militant group blamed the security forces and noted that al-Sabbagh was the sister of one of its fighters who was killed in a battle with Israeli troops last year.

Later on Sunday, hundreds of people demonstrated in Jenin in support of the Palestinian security forces. It was organized by the Fatah party that dominates the Palestinian Authority.

Violence has flared in the West Bank since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza triggered the war there. Israel captured the West Bank, along with Gaza and east Jerusalem, in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians want all three territories for a future state.

The Oct. 7 attack killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted around 250, including women, children and older adults. Around 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third believed to be dead.

Israel’s Health Ministry released a report late Saturday detailing what it said was widespread physical, psychological and sexual abuse of people who had been held in Gaza.

The report, based on the findings of doctors who treated some of the more than 100 hostages released during a ceasefire last year, said the captives — including children — had been subjected to “severe physical and sexual abuse, such as beatings, isolation, deprivation of food and water, branding, hair-pulling and sexual assault.”

The findings, which will be sent to the United Nations, could increase pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a ceasefire and hostage release with Hamas. Families of the hostages and their supporters have held weekly mass demonstrations for months, and diplomats have reported recent progress in the long-running indirect talks.

An Israeli strike on a hospital's upper floor in Gaza City on Sunday killed at least seven people and wounded several others, according to the Civil Defense, first responders affiliated with the Hamas-run government. The Israeli military said it struck a Hamas control center inside the building, which it said was no longer serving as a hospital.

And a strike near Nuseirat in central Gaza killed eight and wounded more than 15, according to officials at Al-Awda Hospital.

Meanwhile, Israel’s military said militants launched five projectiles from northern Gaza into Israel, the second time in two days, adding that two were intercepted and the rest likely fell in open areas. Rockets from northern Gaza had been rare in recent months as Israel's military increased operations there.

Israel’s offensive has killed over 45,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 100,000, according to local health authorities. They say women and children make up more than half the deaths but do not distinguish between militants and civilians in their count. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.

Israel's bombardment and ground operations have displaced some 90% of Gaza's population of 2.3 million people, often multiple times. Vast areas of the territory, including entire neighborhoods, are in ruins, and critical infrastructure has been destroyed.

Israeli restrictions, ongoing fighting and the breakdown of law and order have hindered the delivery of humanitarian aid, raising fears of famine, while widespread hunger has left people at greater risk of disease and death.

Mohammed reported from Jenin, West Bank. Associated Press writer Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel contributed to this report.

Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

Imam Islam Abu Suaied holds the body of 20-day-old Jomaa al-Batran , who died from hypothermia, before the funeral at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza, Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024. Jomaa's twin brother, Ali, remains in intensive care, as local health officials report at least three other infant deaths from the cold in recent weeks. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Ali al-Batran, a 20-day-old infant, lies in the intensive care unit with hypothermia at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024. His twin brother, Jomaa, has died, as local health officials report at least three other infant deaths from the cold in recent weeks. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - Yehia al-Batran grieves as he holds the body of his 20-day-old son Jomaa, who died from hypothermia, at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza, Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024. Jomaa's twin brother, Ali, remains in intensive care, as local health officials report at least three other infant deaths from the cold in recent weeks. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - Yehia al-Batran grieves as he holds the body of his 20-day-old son Jomaa, who died from hypothermia, at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza, Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024. Jomaa's twin brother, Ali, remains in intensive care, as local health officials report at least three other infant deaths from the cold in recent weeks. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - Yehia al-Batran grieves as he holds the body of his 20-day-old son Jomaa, who died from hypothermia, at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza, Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024. Jomaa's twin brother, Ali, remains in intensive care, as local health officials report at least three other infant deaths from the cold in recent weeks. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Ali al-Batran, a 20-day-old infant, lies in the intensive care unit with hypothermia at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024. His twin brother, Jomaa, has died, as local health officials report at least three other infant deaths from the cold in recent weeks. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Imam Islam Abu Suaied prays over the bodies of two babies before their burial at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024. One baby died at birth, while the other, 20-day-old Jomaa al-Batran, succumbed to hypothermia. According to local health officials, at least three other babies in Gaza have died from the cold in recent weeks.(AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)