Gaza authorities raise alarm over impact of Storm Byron on displaced
A new disaster could be threatening hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians in the Gaza Strip over the next 48 hours as Storm Byron advances with heavy rainfall and winds, the enclave’s Government Media Office has warned.
The storm poses real dangers, the office said in a statement, pointing out that countless Palestinians have continued to live in dilapidated tents for more than a year without any end in sight to their painful conditions.
“The Gaza Strip is facing severe weather consequences that could cause widespread damage to tens of thousands of families living in tents and makeshift shelters that offer no protection from the winter cold or the harshness of storms,” it said, calling the situation a “recurring tragic scenario”.
“We emphasise that this weather reality exacerbates the humanitarian catastrophe resulting from the genocidal war and the unjust siege imposed on our Palestinian people.”
Buildings destroyed by Israel lie in ruins amidst the rubble in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on December 8
Flash floods, hail, gusty winds to grip Palestine through Friday
Three days of cold thunderstorms are expected to hit Palestine starting from today, the Palestinian Meteorological Department has warned, unleashing flash floods, high winds and even hail.
Gusts will reach speeds of about 50km/h (31mph), accompanied by a drop in temperatures and intense rain across most of the country – including occasional icy hail – with conditions continuing overnight, the department said.
The low-pressure system is predicted to “deepen its impact” tomorrow, the service added. Temperatures will drop again and bring a fresh deluge of stormy weather. Although temperatures will rise slightly by Friday, the system is not slated to start easing off until the weekend, when conditions will remain cold and largely cloudy.
About 850,000 displaced Palestinians face highest flood risk in Gaza: OCHA
Nearly 850,000 people, currently sheltering in 761 displacement sites in the Gaza Strip, face the highest risk of flooding this week, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
In an update, OCHA said it had tracked more than 3,500 displacement movements between December 7 and 8, likely in anticipation of the heavy thunderstorms forecast to batter Palestine starting today. Flooding has previously been recorded at more than 200 of the highest-risk sites, the office said, affecting more than 140,000 people.
Previous storms have contaminated displacement sites with sewage and solid waste, swept away families’ tents and forced them out of makeshift shelters.
Palestinians struggle with flooding after heavy rain hits the Abu Marhil camp in the Zeitoun neighbourhood in Gaza City, Gaza on December 10
About 288,000 Palestinian families are without shelter as Storm Byron bears down on the Gaza Strip, the director of the enclave’s Government Media Office, Ismail al-Thawabta, has told Al Jazeera. Roughly 250,000 tents and mobile homes were supposed to enter Gaza, al-Thawabta said. But there are currently 6,000 trucks “loaded with aid stuck at the crossings”.
“We are issuing an urgent appeal to the world, [United States] President Trump and the [United Nations] Security Council to pressure the Israeli occupation,” he added.
