Heavy rains flood tens of thousands of tents in Gaza, displacing families
Heavy rainfall has inundated around 70,000 tents across Gaza, leaving many displaced families without shelter and prompting urgent calls for international aid.
Heavy rain that began early Saturday flooded an estimated 70,000 tents used by displaced residents across Gaza, according to local authorities. Families in Gaza City, northern districts and central areas were seen fleeing the water-logged camps as the rain continued.
The Palestinian Civil Defence reported more than 1,500 emergency calls received during the night from people whose shelters were submerged. Spokesman Mahmoud Basal told AFP that the agency is operating without equipment or capacity to address the situation. > "We have issued an urgent distress call to the international community and humanitarian organisations to intervene immediately to save hundreds of thousands of displaced people from the flooding of their tents," Basal said. > "We cannot face the consequences of this storm on our own," he added.
Authorities also noted the collapse of cracked walls and roofs, causing injuries, some of them serious, in several locations.