Heavy rains flooded tent camps of displaced Palestinians across the Gaza Strip, adding to the misery of communities already devastated by 13 months of war, as Israeli forces intensified their attacks in the enclave.
Overnight showers flooded tents and in some places washed away plastic and cloth shelters used by displaced people in the enclave, most of whom have been uprooted repeatedly during the war between Israel and Hamas.
Some placed buckets of water on the ground to protect the mats from leaking and dug trenches to drain water from their tents.
“We left the north and survived the bombings. We left after the siege. But now the rain and cold are killing us. I have been sick for three days,” Ahmad, a displaced resident of Jabalia, northern Gaza, told Tel Aviv Tribune in a tent camp at Yarmouk stadium in Gaza City.
“We were affected by the rain. Our children were soaked. Our clothes got wet and we have nothing to protect ourselves, just the tent,” said Um Mohammad Marouf, a displaced resident of Beit Lahiya.
Many tents used at the start of Israel’s war in Gaza are now worn out and no longer offer protection. The price of new tents and plastic sheeting has also soared beyond the means of displaced families.
On Monday, the Gaza government media office said in a statement that around 10,000 tents had been swept away or damaged by the storm, calling for international help to provide displaced families with tents to protect them from the rain and cold.
“According to government field assessment teams, 81 percent of displaced people’s tents are no longer usable. Out of 135,000 tents, 110,000 are completely worn out and need to be replaced urgently,” the statement said.
From Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, Tel Aviv Tribune’s Hani Mahmoud said many tent sites are close to the coast and are not designed to withstand “these horrible conditions”, particularly in the approach of colder weather.
“The rising tide damaged many of these tents, leaving people with little hope and without dry clothes to protect themselves,” he said.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has warned that half a million people in the besieged enclave are at risk in flood-affected areas.
“The situation will only get worse with every drop of rain, with every bomb, with every strike,” the agency said on X.
Meanwhile, on Monday, Israeli attacks intensified throughout the enclave.
In Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, an Israeli airstrike killed at least four people, medics said, while tanks intensified their incursions in Beit Hanoon, Beit Lahiya and Jabalia – the largest of the eight historic refugee camps in the enclave.
Doctors said seven Palestinians were also killed by two Israeli air attacks in Jabalia.
Gazans said Israeli planes also dropped new leaflets on Beit Lahiya ordering remaining residents to leave the northern city for the south, saying the area would be attacked and providing them with a map.
Palestinians say Israel appears determined to permanently depopulate the area in order to create a buffer zone along Gaza’s northern border. Israel has repeatedly denied this accusation.
The Israeli war in Gaza has killed at least 44,235 Palestinians and injured 104,638 since October 7, 2023.
An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel in attacks carried out by Hamas that day and more than 200 were captured.