In Pictures

Heavy rains flood tents in Gaza, bringing further misery to Palestinians

Food and other items spoiled as hundreds of tents for displaced Palestinians flooded amid ongoing Israeli onslaught.

Palestinians, forced to migrate by Israeli attacks, struggle with rain and cold weather — The Palestinian Civil Defence said thousands of displaced people were affected by the seasonal flooding [Ali Jadallah/Anadolu]

By News Agencies

Heavy rain has flooded tents for displaced Palestinians across Gaza, bringing more misery to 2.3 million people who have been facing nonstop Israeli bombardment since last October.

“We ran in the middle of the night, the rainwater flooded the tent, the food is gone, the kids screamed and I am afraid they will get sick,” said Rami, 37, a Gaza City man displaced at a former football stadium.

The Palestinian Civil Defence said thousands of displaced people were affected by the seasonal flooding and demanded new tents and caravans from aid donors to shield them.

“Rainfall has caused severe damage to tents housing thousands of displaced people with water flowing inside the tents and damaging luggage and mattresses,” Civil Defence spokesman Mahmoud Basal said in a statement on Sunday.

“The current situation signals a real humanitarian catastrophe if immediate intervention does not take place,” he warned.

The spokesman appealed to the United Nations and the international community to quickly intervene to provide tents and caravans for displaced civilians in Gaza during winter.

Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza has killed more than 44,000 people, and uprooted nearly the entire population at least once while reducing wide swaths of the narrow coastal territory to rubble.

On Thursday, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice over its brutal war on Gaza.

ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS/GAZA-RAIN — Displaced Palestinians walk near tents following heavy rainfall in Gaza City. [Dawoud Abu Alkas/Reuters]

A displaced boy covers his head with a pan as he runs from the rain past building rubble at the Bureij refugee camp — A displaced boy covers his head with a pan as he runs from the rain past destroyed homes at the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza. [Eyad Baba/AFP]

PALESTINIAN-ISRAEL-CONFLICT-WEATHER — Displaced Palestinian children transport sand from the nearby beach to be used for filling sand bags for protecting tents from the rain, following heavy rainfall north of Deir el-Balah. [Bashar Taleb/AFP]

A displaced Palestinian woman stands inside a wind and rain-damaged tent, — A displaced Palestinian woman stands inside a damaged tent, following heavy rainfall north of Deir el-Balah. [Bashar Taleb/AFP]