Displaced Palestinian families in Gaza are struggling to cope after heavy rains flooded their makeshift tent camps, Al Jazeera reported on Friday, as the United Nations warns that Israeli restrictions on aid have left hundreds of thousands without proper shelter. Abdulrahman Asaliyah, a displaced Palestinian man, told Al Jazeera that residents’ mattresses, clothes and other belongings were drenched by the flooding.
We are calling for help, for new tents that can at least protect people from the winter cold,” he said, adding that nearly two dozen people had been working for hours to drain water from the area.
Gaza’s civil defence agency said the flooding mainly hit communities in the north, where large numbers of displaced families have returned following last month’s ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Flooding was also reported in Deir el-Balah in central Gaza.