Agencies
Gaza/Tel Aviv
Heavy rainfall has caused widespread flooding in war-torn Gaza.
Images of flooded tent camps for displaced Palestinians circulated on Tuesday, with children pictured wading barefoot through pools of water and mud. According to UN figures, almost 1 million people in the Gaza Strip are living through the winter months without adequate shelter.
Recently, temperatures in Gaza City have dropped below 10 degrees Celsius at night, with strong winds and rain.
Aid organizations have warned of precarious living conditions for internally displaced people in the territory, with lower temperatures leading to an increase in illnesses among children. There have also been reports of infant deaths due to hypothermia.
Meanwhile, a UN report has said Israel’s claims that Gaza hospitals are being used for military purposes by Palestinian armed groups are “vague” amid continuing Israeli attacks on health facilities protected under international law.
The report – released on Tuesday by the UN human rights office – said Israeli strikes targeting hospitals and their surroundings in the Gaza Strip have pushed the territory’s healthcare system “to the brink of total collapse with catastrophic effect on Palestinians’ access to health and medical care”. The 23-page report looked at the period from October 7, 2023, to June 30, 2024.
During this time there were at least 136 attacks on 27 hospitals and 12 other medical facilities, inflicting significant casualties among doctors, nurses, medics, and other civilians while causing significant damage to, if not the complete destruction of, civilian infrastructure.
Israel is continuing its operation to destroy Hamas following the October 7, 2023 attacks mounted from the Gaza Strip, which killed more than 1,200 people.
According to Palestinian figures, more than 45,500 people in Gaza have been killed in the fighting. Efforts to secure a ceasefire and the release of 100 Hamas hostages in return for Palestinian prisoners have so far been unsuccessful.
