Gaza Families Struggle To Recover From Days Of Deadly Torrential Rains

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Palestinians in Gaza struggled to recover Tuesday Heavy rain affected the region For days, camps for displaced persons were flooded, and already heavily damaged buildings were destroyed. two years war and left at least 12 dead, including a two-week-old baby.

Last week’s downpour, which dumped more than 150 milliliters (9 inches) of rain in parts of Gaza, turned dirt roads into mud and flooded tents in camps housing displaced people.

Gaza’s Ministry of Health, which is part of the Hamas-run government, said on Tuesday that the two-week-old baby died of hypothermia as a result of weather conditions. The baby was brought to the hospital a few days ago and taken to intensive care, but he died on Monday.

A man died on Tuesday when a house damaged during Israeli attacks in Gaza collapsed due to heavy rain, according to Shifa Hospital.

Members of the Al-Hosari family said that 30 people lived in the building, but only nine people were in the house when the building collapsed. The murdered man was said to be a worker who had come to repair the walls. Five people were injured.

The Ministry of Health said that the remaining 10 people lost their lives due to buildings collapsing due to rain and high winds last week.

Emergency officials warned people not to stay in damaged buildings as they could collapse at any time. But with much of the area reduced to rubble, there is little escape from the rain.

In July, the United Nations Satellite Center reported that almost 80% of buildings in Gaza were destroyed. destroyed or damaged.

“When we hear the news of the storm, our whole life changes; we start thinking about where we will stay, where we will go, where we will put our beds and blankets, and where we will keep our children safe and warm,” said Mohammed Gharableh, a displaced father from the southern city of Rafah.

“With every storm like this, water gets into our tents and our beds and blankets get wet,” he added.

According to the Israel Meteorological Service, areas in Israel near Gaza received between 60 mm and 160 mm (2 to 6 inches) of rain last week; This is in some cases more than double the average amount of rain for this time of year.

Despite a two-month ceasefire, not enough shelter supplies are arriving in Gaza to help Palestinians cope with the coming winter, according to aid groups.

Recently released Israeli military figures suggest this did not fulfill the ceasefire condition 600 trucks of aid per day are allowed to enter Gaza, but Israel disputes this finding.

The vast majority of Gaza’s 2 million people are displaced, with most people set up in vast tent camps along the coast or among the shells of damaged buildings. Buildings are inadequate adequate flood infrastructure People use the septic tanks dug next to the tents as toilets.

COGAT, the Israeli military agency responsible for coordinating aid to Gaza, said nearly 270,000 tents and awnings, as well as winter supplies, shelter equipment and cleaning materials, have entered Gaza in the past few months.

But some aid groups disputed those figures and said more supplies, especially winter supplies, were desperately needed.

Shelter Cluster, a coalition of international aid providers led by the Norwegian Refugee Council, said last week that only 68,000 tents entering Gaza were being tracked through the UN, non-governmental organizations and various countries. It is stated that most of the tents are not properly insulated for the winter.

At the U.N. Security Council meeting on Tuesday, officials said the U.N. distributed tents, blankets and other winter supplies, but the risk of hypothermia increases with the onset of winter weather.

Separately, the Israeli military said on Tuesday it had closed an investigation into a soldier who allowed an Israeli archaeologist to accompany soldiers to a historic fortress in southern Lebanon in November last year.

The visit took place before Ceasefire brokered by the USA and France It came into force during the war between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, when the Israeli army was operating in areas in southern Lebanon to destroy Hezbollah’s military infrastructure.

Zeev Erlich, 70, a well-known archaeologist and settler leader in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. He was killed along with an Israeli soldier in an ambush by Hezbollah. Erlich was not on active or reserve duty, but had entered Lebanon with Israeli troops while armed and wearing a military uniform.

The Israeli military said it would investigate how a civilian was allowed to enter Lebanon and initially suggested that Yoav Yarom, the infantry commander who brought Ehrlich, be charged with reckless homicide.

On Tuesday, the chief military prosecutor announced that the military had instead decided to close the investigation without criminal charges but recommended internal action within the military.