Heavy Rains Drench Displaced Gazans As Israeli Destruction Leaves Camps Defenseless
Overnight storms flooded Gaza’s displacement camps, exposing families to harsh weather after the Israeli enemy’s devastation stripped the enclave of basic shelter infrastructure.
Heavy rainfall submerged the tents of displaced Palestinians in Gaza on Friday.
Families awoke to several centimeters of water soaking their shelters and belongings.
Gaza Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmoud Basal said officials received “hundreds of pleas for help,” but added that “the resources are nonexistent.”
Basal said “entire shelter centers have seen water levels rise to more than 10 centimeters (3.94 inches).”
He said “mattresses are soaked, blankets are drenched and there are no options left — because every option has been destroyed by Israel.”
Residents told CNN that many tents were worn thin and collapsed under the rain.
“We have been flooded by the rain, us and our little children,” Raed Al-Alayan said.
“Our tents were flooded. There is no roof to protect us from the rain.”
Storms are common in Gaza during this season, but mass displacement caused by Israeli regime assaults has left hundreds of thousands vulnerable to even routine rainfall.
Rain continued through the morning as residents tried to push water out of their makeshift shelters.
“We have been awake since 2:30 a.m. because of the rain. Everything is soaked; the mattresses and the blankets,” Abdulbasset Abulhadi said.
A woman guiding CNN through her flooded tents said she was sheltering 20 children, including newborns, and broke down while describing her situation.
“Where should we go?” she asked repeatedly.
“My son who was killed built these tents for us. What am I supposed to do now?”
UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said hundreds of tents and improvised shelters were flooded.
He said UN partners report that Gaza lacks the tools needed for flood prevention, including equipment to drain water and remove rubble left by Israeli regime bombardment.
“We fear that thousands of displaced families are now left fully exposed to the harsh weather elements,” Dujarric said.
Medical Aid for Palestinians communications officer Mai Elawawda described Friday as “one of the hardest days in Gaza since the ceasefire.”
“Elawawawda said heavy rain destroyed the few belongings families still have.
She said most displaced people are surviving in worn-out tents that “have travelled with them through two years of nonstop Israeli attacks and forced displacement.”
She said these sun-frayed tents “are now collapsing with the first signs of winter.”
OCHA estimates more than 1.4 million people in Gaza need emergency shelter items.
It reports more than 320,000 housing units have been damaged by Israeli regime attacks.
Despite the scale of need, only limited shelter aid has been allowed into Gaza by Israeli authorities.
One resident said he has not received a single tarp throughout the entire war.
“Most of our bedding was soaked. We drowned in just five minutes of rain,” Abu Mohammad Abaeeb said.
Dujarric said “millions” of shelter items remain stuck in Jordan, Egypt and Israel awaiting approval to enter Gaza.