Thousands of Palestinian Tents Flooded as Heavy Rain and Severe Cold Deepen Gaza’s Humanitarian Crisis

Gaza Strip: The first heavy rainfall of the winter season has worsened the suffering of Palestinians who have already lost almost everything in the war. Torrential rain across several parts of the Gaza Strip has flooded the tents of thousands of displaced Palestinians. As a result, hundreds of thousands of people living in the open or in damaged temporary shelters are facing severe hardship.

Local sources said continuous rainfall had caused waterlogging in refugee camps located in low-lying areas across Gaza. The belongings of many families, including their clothes and limited supplies of dry bedding, have been soaked and damaged by rainwater.

In northern Gaza, at least two Palestinians were injured when the wall of an already damaged house collapsed under the pressure of rainwater. Meanwhile, Gaza’s Civil Defence Department received more than 1,500 emergency calls for assistance within just 10 hours following the sudden flooding and severe weather. However, rescue workers have been unable to reach all affected areas quickly due to fuel shortages and a lack of heavy equipment and adequate water pumps.

According to human rights organisations, around 162,000 tents in Gaza have already become unusable. With drainage systems destroyed and adequate winter clothing and tents in short supply, there are growing fears of an unprecedented humanitarian disaster in the region during the coming winter season.

Source: Al Jazeera.