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The extreme weather conditions are compounding the misery of displaced Palestinians in Gaza, who have already suffered relentless bombardment, siege and casualties in Israel’s genocidal war for more than two years, as Israel continues to block essential shelter and aid supplies to the territory.
Flimsy tents were flooded and makeshift camps submerged in mud on Monday following heavy winter rains that hit the enclave in recent days.
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The harsh conditions have added to the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza, most of whom have been reduced to sheltering in tents and other makeshift structures since the Israeli war destroyed about 80 percent of the buildings.
Authorities warn that harsh conditions also bring new dangers, with the threat of disease as overwhelmed and damaged sewage systems contaminate floodwaters, and the risk of damaged buildings collapsing due to heavy rain.
Sunday, a A 30-year-old woman was killed when a partially destroyed wall collapsed on his tent in the Remal neighborhood, west of Gaza City, amid strong winds, Al Jazeera Arabic reported.
Authorities have warned people not to shelter in damaged buildings, but tents offer only limited protection from heavy rain and no real protection from flooding.
At least 15 people, including three babies, have died this month of hypothermia following rains and plunging temperatures, according to Gaza authorities.
Arkan Firas Musleh, a two-month-old baby, is the latest child to die from the extreme cold.
Contaminated flood water
Reporting from Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood, where most buildings were reduced to rubble by Israeli attacks, Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary said heavy rains had created deep puddles and thick mud that was difficult to walk through in places.
“People have difficulty walking in these mud puddles,” she said. “It’s not just water, but also sewage and waste.”
A team of municipal workers was trying to pump sewage from an overwhelmed network, while residents reported flooded tents.
“Families say sewage is entering their tents,” she said.
Calls for aid delivery
Humanitarian groups have called on the international community to pressure Israel to lift restrictions on deliveries of life-saving aid to the territory, which they say are far below the amount required under the U.S.-brokered ceasefire.
“Even more rain. More human misery, despair and death,” Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner general of UNRWA, the main United Nations group overseeing aid to Gaza, wrote on social media on Sunday.
“Severe winter conditions compound more than two years of suffering. Gaza residents survive in flimsy, waterlogged tents and amid ruins.”
There is “nothing inevitable about this,” he added. “Humanitarian supplies are not being allowed in on the scale required. »
New Israeli attacks
Meanwhile, despite the ceasefire that came into effect on October 10, Israeli attacks against Palestinians continue in Gaza.
Three Palestinians were injured on Monday when Israeli forces targeted the Jabalia camp in northern Gaza, a medical source told Al Jazeera Arabic.
Witnesses said the attack occurred in an area from which Israeli forces had withdrawn under the ceasefire agreement.
Witnesses also reported an Israeli air raid on eastern areas of Bureij camp in central Gaza, artillery shelling east of Rafah and further Israeli attacks east of Gaza City, Al Jazeera Arabic reported.
A 20-point plan proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump in September called for an initial truce followed by steps toward broader peace. So far, under the first phase, there has been an exchange of captives held in Gaza and prisoners in Israeli prisons, as well as a partial withdrawal of Israeli forces from the enclave. However, it still occupies almost half of the territory.
However, Israeli attacks have not stopped and the humanitarian aid delivered to the territory has not lived up to its promises.
Since the truce took effect, more than 414 Palestinians have been killed and more than 1,100 injured in ceasefire violations, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
