Gaza ‘urgently’ needs 300,000 new tents, says its media office
One and a half million displaced Palestinians are living in “harsh humanitarian conditions in Gaza camps” and need better shelter, according to the director of Gaza’s Government Media Office, Ismail al-Thawabta.
“Hundreds of thousands of families are living inside dilapidated tents damaged by the war of extermination and storms. The sector urgently needs 300,000 new tents, while only 20,000 tents have entered,” al-Thawabta said. He explained that an earlier rainstorm flooded “tens of thousands of tents” in Gaza, leaving areas submerged in mud and water.
“More than 22,000 tents were completely damaged, including tarpaulins, insulation materials and blankets. Emergency shelters collapsed, temporary water networks broke down and became mixed with rainwater,” he said.
“Ten mobile medical points were disrupted, vital supplies were lost, and medical teams faced difficulty accessing the area. The displaced people have lost the minimum necessities of life and are living without protection from the cold, wind and rain,” al-Thawabta added
Civil defence says more than 2,500 ‘distress signals’ recorded across Gaza
Gaza’s civil defence says it has received “more than 2,500 distress signals” from Palestinians whose tents and shelters have been damaged since the heavy rainfall began.
In updates posted on Telegram, rescue teams found that entire displacement camps were flooded in the al-Mawasi area in Khan Younis, the al-Bassa and al-Baraka areas in Deir el-Balah, the “Central Market” area in Nuseirat, and the “Yarmouk and Port” areas in Gaza City.
“Displaced citizens with their children and women are now drowning, and the rain is sweeping away their tents despite the many appeals and humanitarian calls we have made to save them,” the civil defence said.
A child walks through a flooded area after heavy rain in the Abu Marhil refugee camp in Gaza City, December 11
Flood risk analysis by OCHA and affiliated international bodies on the ground in Gaza showed that 761 displacement sites hosting about 850,000 people are “at the highest risk of flooding”.
“Over 3,500 displacement movements were recorded on December 7 and 8, likely in anticipation of forecasted heavy rainfall expected to make landfall on December 10,” it said in a report.
Aid agencies have been accelerating efforts to relocate displaced families from high-risk shoreline areas, with several hundred families hoping to move to municipalities in Khan Younis to survive.
UN partners are distributing remaining flour sacks to be used as sandbags, as well as limited tools and actual sandbags, “wherever feasible”.
Israeli shelling kills and injures Palestinians in Jabalia camp
Israeli shelling has killed at least one woman and others were injured, ambulance and emergency services in Gaza told our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic.
The attacks were carried out outside the Israeli army’s areas of control.
Israeli shelling targets Bani Suheila, east of Khan Younis
Israeli shelling has targeted a school in the vicinity of Bani Suheila roundabout, east of Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, local sources told our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic.
Israeli attacks have killed 383 people in Gaza since October: Health Ministry
Gaza’s Health Ministry reports that four bodies and 10 injured Palestinians were brought to hospitals across the enclave in the past 24 hours.
In an update posted to Telegram, the ministry said since the ceasefire began in October, 383 Palestinians have been killed, 1,002 people have been injured and 627 bodies have been recovered.
Since the war began in October 2023, Israeli attacks on Gaza have killed 70,373 people and injured 171,079 others, the ministry added.
