Crammed into flimsy tent camps hard up against the seashore, Palestinians in Gaza have been flooded by heavy rain and storm surges in recent days, destroying some shelters, soaking mattresses and blankets and bringing new misery even after a ceasefire.
The officials in Gaza have estimated losses from the stormy weather at around $4.5 million, including 22,000 tents, spoiled food and medicines and damage to infrastructure, while local aid groups say 300,000 new tents are urgently needed.
Nearly all Palestinians in Gaza were forced from their homes during more than two years of Israeli genocidal war on the tiny, crowded enclave, with many now living in tents and other basic shelters.
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‘There is no warmth’
For Abu Mohammed al-Qarra, the rain and cold have been devastating, with water coming into his family’s tent on a beach just 20 metres from the waves, drenching their possessions and forcing them to spend a night frantically moving their things.
“There is no warmth or anything. I have been up since five in the morning, and (now) I am at my neighbours’ place because I want to (rest) and forget the cold and the things that we are suffering from,” he said.
The al-Qarra family ended up in the southern Gaza camp area of al Mawasi in the spring after an earlier truce collapsed and Israel’s military told civilians to head there, but struggled to find any remaining space to pitch their tent.
Eventually, they settled on a spot close up against the sea, protected from surges by only a small sand wall maintained by the families living in that area.
“We were there in the middle of the night, moving and removing our clothes, they got wet, and our mattresses and our pillows. Everything,” he said.
The government media office head, Ismail al-Thawabta, said flooding had destroyed more than 22,000 tents along with tarpaulins, mattresses and cooking equipment, amounting to more than $2 million of damage. Emergency shelters also collapsed in areas, turning camps into pools of water and mud, he said.
Further expensive damage also hit water and sanitation systems, including temporary water lines and sewage pits, as well as small solar installations that provide nearly all the electricity people in the enclave rely on.