Thousands of displaced Palestinians, surrounded by tents and debris in Gaza, are suffering from more winter rains after two years of Israeli bombardment destroyed much of the strip.
A polar low-pressure system moved across the Gaza Strip on Saturday, bringing heavy rain and strong winds.
It is the third polar low to hit the Palestinian territory this winter, with the fourth low-pressure system expected to hit the region starting on Monday.
meteorologist Laith al-Allami told Anadolu news agency.
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Many families have been living in tents since late 2023, for much of the duration of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.
The enclave is facing imminent cold temperatures, rain, and strong winds, and officials have warned that the rain could intensify into a full-blown storm.
Now displaced Palestinian Mohammed Maslah, in Gaza City, told Al Jazeera in his makeshift tent that he has no choice but to stay there.
“I couldn’t find any place to live in Gaza other than the Gaza port,” he told Al Jazeera. “I am forced to live here because my house is under Israeli control. After just a few hours of rain, we were drenched.”
In Deir al-Balah, Shaimaa Wadi, a mother of four displaced from Jabaliya in the north, spoke to The Associated Press. “We have been living in this tent for two years.
Every time it rains and the tent collapses over our heads, we try to put up new pieces of wood,” he said.
“Everything is so expensive, and without income, we can barely buy our kids clothes or mattresses.”
Israeli strikes destroyed or damaged most buildings in Gaza, where heavy rains earlier this month flooded tents and temporary shelters.
At least 15 people, including three infants, have died from hypothermia due to rain and falling temperatures so far in December, according to officials in Gaza, with several buildings collapsing.
Aid organisations have called on Israel to allow more shelters and other humanitarian aid into the area.
Ibrahim Abu al-Reish, head of civil protection field operations in the Gaza port area, said his teams responded to various distress calls as weather conditions turned harsh in places where displaced people had set up fragile tents.
“We worked hard to cover some of these damaged tents with plastic sheets after they were filled with rainwater,” he told Al Jazeera.
Al Jazeera’s Ibrahim al Khalili, reporting from Gaza City, said the cold is exacerbating the suffering of thousands of displaced Palestinians who lack safe shelter.
“The same misery is repeated, as every rain causes the neighbourhood to be flooded with dirty water,” he said.
armistice talks
As Palestinians face dire conditions in Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to visit Washington.
In the upcoming days, negotiators and others will deliberate on the second phase of the ceasefire, which came into effect on October 10.
Progress in the peace process has been slow. Challenges to the second phase of the ceasefire include the deployment of an international stabilization force, a technical governing body for Gaza,
the proposed disarmament of Hamas and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the area.
So far, the agreement remains partially intact despite repeated violations by Israel.
According to Gaza’s health ministry, more than 414 Palestinians have been killed and 1,142 injured since the ceasefire took effect.
679 bodies were removed from the debris after the ceasefire made it safe to search for the remains of those killed.
The ministry said on Saturday that 29 bodies had been brought to local hospitals in the last 48 hours, of which 25 were recovered from the debris.
The ministry reported that Israel’s war has resulted in at least 71,266 Palestinian deaths and another 171,219 injuries.
