Rains Worsen Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza

The humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip continues to deteriorate today as a consequence of rains and dropping temperatures, which have worsened the situation for hundreds of thousands of refugees living in tents.

The Palestinian Meteorological Department forecasted that a low-pressure system would continue to affect the region this Saturday, after having struck the territory with heavy precipitation the previous day.

The Gaza Civil Defense announced that in recent hours it had received numerous distress calls from families in various areas of the coastal enclave, which is home to over two million Palestinians.

It explained that many tents were flooded by water in the Gaza Governorate, including the areas of Tunnel, Al-Daraj, Al-Yarmouk, Al-Zaytoun, and the Shati refugee camp. Cases were also reported in the center of the Strip, especially in the city of Deir al-Balah and the Al-Bureij and Nuseirat refugee camps.

The Civil Defense called on the world, especially the countries sponsoring the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, to pay "attention to the suffering of nearly half a million families displaced by the Israeli aggression."

According to the Government Media Office in the territory, at least 250,000 tents are needed to provide temporary shelter for the population.

Precisely, that institution stated in a communiqué that "with the arrival of winter in full force, the suffering of the citizens increases and the human tragedy deepens."

"Our people have lived through two years of genocidal war and unprecedented human suffering which included the denial of water, food, shelter, and medical care, a tragedy that was expected to end with the ceasefire," it emphasized.

"However, now the situation is the same and the suffering continues because Israel does not fulfill its obligations to allow the entry of aid, food, medicine, construction materials, and shelter supplies," it pointed out.

The Office also criticized "the international silence in the face of Israel's stalling" and affirmed that this stance is not acceptable.