Flooded Camps Deepen Gaza’s Suffering under Israeli Strikes

Gazans struggled after heavy rains and sewage flooded makeshift tents in Gaza.

The UN said Palestinians still lacked adequate food, medicine and other critical supplies, including warm shelters, as winter approached.

The Israeli enemy killed at least three Palestinians in Gaza, as the enclave reeled from flooding that swept through shoddy tents housing thousands who have been denied proper shelter because of Israel’s continued throttling of aid.

A source at Nasser Medical Complex said that three people were killed after Israel bombed east of Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

Israel also struck Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood and areas near Rafah on the same day.

Tamara Alrifai, UNRWA’s director of communications, said Israel had restricted what could enter Gaza, banning items it labeled dual-use.

“Israel … would take out many items that are extremely needed, especially in this winter situation,” she said.

“UNRWA is under double the amount of scrutiny and restrictions than other agencies despite being the largest agency there,” Alrifai said.

She added that the agency had enough supplies to fill 6,000 aid trucks from warehouses in Egypt and Jordan.

Reporting from Gaza City, Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud said: “It’s been raining for two days and people are telling us that everything has started to leak.”

He said many camps sit at lower elevations, allowing water to rush in from all sides and leaving some areas “completely submerged.”

“For people sheltering inside bombed-out buildings, everything is leaking, and there is a risk that with the heavy rains, the buildings could collapse,” he said.

He added that people who set up tents near the coast faced strong tides that could wash them away.

Abdulrahman Asaliyah, a displaced Palestinian, told Al Jazeera: “All the tents have been flooded, people’s mattresses, their food, their water, their clothes. Everything has been soaked.”

“We are calling for help for new tents that can at least protect people from the winter cold,” he said.

Caroline Seguin, Gaza emergency coordinator for Doctors Without Borders (MSF), said many people were awakened by the floods and were afraid to go back to sleep.

“In Gaza, it is a luxury to spend the night in a dry place,” she said.

Seguin said Israel was still obstructing much-needed aid.

Bringing in supplies such as tents and medication remained “very complicated,” she said, requiring “even more administrative processes” from the Israeli side.

Since the start of the ceasefire agreement last month, at least 266 people have been killed and 635 wounded by Israeli attacks, pushing the overall toll toward 70,000 deaths.