Heavy rains flood Gaza camps as winter looms

GAZA/CAIRO: Heavy rain caused flooding in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, swamping the tents of thousands of homeless Palestinians facing the prospect of harsh winter storms without sturdy shelter.

The large majority of Gaza’s 2 million people were forced from their homes during Israel’s two-year ground and air war in the small, crowded enclave, with many now living in tents and other basic shelters.

A ceasefire has broadly held since mid-October but the war demolished much of heavily built-up Gaza, including basic infrastructure, leaving grim living conditions for most people.

“This suffering, this rain – and the low-pressure weather systems haven’t even started yet. It’s only the beginning of winter, and we’re already flooded and humiliated,” Um Ahmed Aowdah said outside her tent as rain pelted down on Tuesday.

“We haven’t received new tents or tarps. Our tarp is two years old and our tent is two years old – they’re completely worn out.”

Amjad Al-Shawa, head of the Palestinian NGOs Network, said there was an urgent need for at least 300,000 new tents to house the roughly 1.5 million people still displaced from their homes.

The Palestinian Civil Defence Service said thousands of tents housing displaced families had been inundated by rainwater or damaged by torrential rainstorms over the past week.

Some tents completely washed away as floodwaters rose 40 to 50 centimeters above ground level in some areas of the coastal enclave, while a field hospital had to suspend operations due to flooding, medics and witnesses said.

The United Nations said on Monday that while it was working to bring winter supplies into Gaza, the number of trucks able to enter the enclave was limited by Israeli curbs on aid groups.

Hamas-led Gaza authorities say Israel is not letting in as much aid as was promised under the ceasefire deal. Aid agencies say Israel is preventing many essential items from entering.

Israel says it is complying fully with obligations under the truce deal and does not stop any aid entering Gaza, and that aid agencies have been inefficient in distributing it.