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Rainstorms submerge 1,500 tents in Gaza’s displacement camps

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
1 Jan 2025 10:25
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Torrential rains have devastated displacement camps across the Gaza Strip, destroying vital belongings and making life even more difficult for Palestinians amid the ongoing Israeli genocide.

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A young girl walks barefoot, carrying empty jerrycans to collect water, after overnight rainfall at the refugee tent camp for displaced Palestinians in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, on December 31, 2024. (AP)

Over the past two days, heavy rainfall has flooded 1,542 tents housing forcibly displaced families in camps and shelters across the Gaza Strip.

The General Directorate of Civil Defense reported that rescue teams found hundreds of tents submerged in over 30 cm of water, causing significant damage to the belongings of displaced residents.

The hardest-hit areas included the camps at Yarmouk Stadium and Gaza Municipality Park, where 242 tents were flooded. In the Saraya complex, 185 tents were affected, and 70 tents in the Shujaiya parking lot were submerged.

#شاهد | ظروف قاسية جداً يعيشها أهل #غزة في ظل الحرب ومأساة النزوح والخيام تحت المطر والبرد الشديد.#الميادين pic.twitter.com/cKDXqp8IS9
— قناة الميادين (@AlMayadeenNews) December 30, 2024

In Rafah, 170 tents along al-Bahr Street and near the Fash Fesh rest area were inundated. In Khan Younis, over 665 tents were damaged, while 210 tents in the central governorate, particularly in Deir al-Balah, al-Bassa, and Wadi al-Salqa, were also severely impacted.

Meanwhile, rescue teams are continuing efforts to provide assistance and assess the full extent of the damage despite the challenges.

UNRWA warns of dire winter conditions as Gazans freeze to death

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) stated that over 100 tents used by displaced Palestinians have been immersed in water due to heavy rains over Khan Younis.

According to UNRWA, more than 500 Palestinian families, currently living on Gaza's coast, are grappling with tough winter conditions.

The relief organization has consistently warned of the worsening humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, due to food insecurity and the severe shortage of humanitarian aid, stressing that its teams are working to deliver aid to those in need, emphasizing that it is "nowhere near enough."

While you are sitting in your house under your blankets, we are dying in Gaza from the cold.

No One Cares, No One Cares. pic.twitter.com/rYIoTZflRF
— Ahmed Shameya 🇵🇸 (@ahmedshameya995) December 31, 2024

Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the Civil Defense in Gaza, Mahmoud Basal, detailed the suffering of Palestinians in the Strip, noting that a large number of Palestinians have crowded into displacement camps amid extremely cold weather.

Basal, speaking to Al Mayadeen, highlighted that Palestinians, already dying from bombardment and hunger, now face the threat of freezing to death. He noted that seven children and infants had already died from the cold.

The Civil Defense in Gaza reported on Tuesday that it received hundreds of distress calls from forcibly displaced residents whose tents and shelters have been flooded by heavy rainfall, with many pleading for urgent help to rescue their children.

The Civil Defense stated in a press release that since yesterday, it has received numerous distress calls from displaced citizens whose tents and destroyed homes have been flooded by rainwater.

"Our teams are only able to evacuate citizens from their flooded shelters to other locations, which are often unsuitable for housing, leaving them exposed to the elements in the open, under torrential rain and freezing temperatures," the statement read.