Heavy Rain Floods Thousands of Gaza Tents, Aid Shortages Hurt Response

Gaza – (Special Correspondent/Web Desk) – Heavy rain floods have hit displaced families across the Gaza Strip, washing away shelters and soaking blankets and mattresses on Saturday. Local authorities say the storm struck crowded tent camps where most people now live.

Gaza’s government media office said at least 70,000 tents were flooded in just 12 hours. Tens of thousands of people were affected. Some people were injured, but no deaths were reported.

The civil defence service said it received 1,500 distress calls from residents. Three abandoned houses also collapsed, though nobody was hurt.

At a camp in Gaza City, families worked hard to protect what little they had. Some tried to patch their tents. Others piled sand around the edges to keep water out. Many parents carried their children out of flooded shelters.

Olfat Magdoub tried to sweep water from her tent, but it kept coming back. She said this was only the first day of rain and they were already overwhelmed. She worried about what would happen if more rain came the next day.

She also recalled a storm two weeks ago. She said she slept on blankets on the floor for four days because the bedding was soaked. Now the mattresses are wet again, so her family sleeps on the ground.

Rescue teams say they cannot keep up. Municipal and civil defence officials blame fuel shortages and damaged equipment. They say Israel destroyed hundreds of vehicles during the war, including bulldozers and water pumps.

Hamas blamed Israel for blocking shelters and building materials from entering Gaza. The Israeli military aid agency COGAT did not immediately respond. On Friday, it said it had stepped up efforts to improve sanitation before the expected rain. It said four more vacuum trucks entered Gaza this week through the Red Cross, joining eight brought in earlier.

A US-brokered ceasefire last year promised the rebuilding of Gaza, but progress has been slow. Talks have failed to settle terms for Hamas to disarm or for Israel to withdraw its troops. Israeli forces still control about two-thirds of the territory.

Rafiq Ghattas, standing barefoot in a large pool of rainwater, said they have no tarpaulins, no tents and no help. He said nobody is checking on them.

Palestinian authorities say more than 74,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began after the October 7, 2023 attacks, in which about 1,200 people were killed in southern Israel.