Gaza (Palestine Foundation Information Center), Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem has stressed that the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in the Gaza Strip, where hundreds of families have been submerged in their tents amid tragic conditions, highlights the suffering of civilians and stands as a stain on the conscience of the international community, which has continued to fail to compel the Israeli occupation to lift its oppressive siege on the Gaza Strip.
In a statement on Saturday, Qassem strongly emphasized that responsibility for this humanitarian catastrophe rests not only with the Israeli occupation but also with the relevant international institutions, including the so-called Board of Peace and its representative, Nikolay Mladenov. He said these bodies had failed to fulfil their role in ensuring the entry of humanitarian and relief supplies into the Gaza Strip, while continuing to remain silent over the crime of maintaining the siege imposed on more than two million Palestinians.
The Hamas spokesman said that the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza obliges mediators to assume their full responsibilities under the agreements reached and to take serious and effective action to compel the occupation to fulfil its obligations.
He stressed that these obligations include, first and foremost, allowing sufficient quantities of essential humanitarian aid and shelter supplies into the Gaza Strip to help alleviate the ongoing suffering of the Palestinian people.
Qassem also called on the Arab League to take immediate and effective action to save the Gaza Strip from the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe, in a manner consistent with the principles and objectives for which the organization was established and reflecting its national and humanitarian responsibilities towards the Palestinian people.
Meanwhile, Gaza’s Civil Defense agency has announced that it has received more than 1,500 emergency calls from Palestinian families sheltering in damaged tents and displacement shelters across various parts of the Gaza Strip since the onset of heavy rainfall and stormy weather.
The agency warned of the worsening humanitarian disaster, citing the flooding of entire displacement camps and the lack of necessary resources to deal with the consequences of the severe weather conditions.
In a press statement on Saturday, the Civil Defense said it had recorded the flooding of entire displacement camps across various areas and cities in the Gaza Strip following heavy rainfall since the early morning hours.
It explained that thousands of displaced people, including women and children, are at risk of being submerged inside their shelters as rainwater washes away their tents.
The agency noted that this disaster is unfolding despite its repeated humanitarian appeals ahead of the storm, warning of the potentially dangerous consequences of the expected weather conditions.
