Gaza, (The Palestine Foundation Pakistan)
Ismail Al-Thawabteh, Director of the Government Media Office in Gaza, revealed that the severe weather system that struck the Gaza Strip on Tuesday caused extensive damage to approximately 22,000 tents sheltering displaced people, leaving over 288,000 individuals without protection from the stormy weather.
In press statements on Wednesday, Al-Thawabteh said that the estimated losses from the storm reach around $3.5 million, as rainwater flooded vast areas of the camps, rendering them uninhabitable even as temporary shelters.
He noted that primitive sewage systems were significantly damaged, walkways inside schools used as shelters were flooded, and temporary water networks were disrupted, further worsening the humanitarian crisis.
Al-Thawabteh also reported major losses in the food sector due to the spoilage of large quantities of food and the loss of aid intended for distribution. More than 10 mobile medical units were also taken offline, in addition to the loss of essential medicines and supplies because of the difficulty in accessing waterlogged areas.
Conditions deteriorated further following unstable weather from Monday evening through Tuesday evening. Persistent rainfall has intensified the suffering of displaced people living in tents.
Videos and images from across the Strip show dozens of tents submerged, with water soaking mattresses and clothes, forcing families to seek any dry space to escape the cold. Rainwater also flooded parts of the operating theater at the Kuwaiti Field Hospital in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza, and water accumulation on roads disrupted both pedestrian and cart movement.
