Environment
Heavy rainfall has caused widespread destruction in refugee camps across Gaza. Four children, including an infant and a woman have reportedly died after drowning in floodwaters and being buried
Heavy rainfall has caused widespread destruction in refugee camps across Gaza. Four children, including an infant and a woman have reportedly died after drowning in floodwaters and being buried when a sand mound collapsed onto their tents. The rainfall has also destroyed the belongings of thousands of families and damaged their temporary shelters. United Nations Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq said that UN relief teams and their partners were working to remove floodwater from affected areas, improve drainage systems, protect makeshift settlements for displaced people with sandbags, repair tents wherever possible, and provide emergency relief supplies to affected families. Relief teams are operating with extremely limited resources, which fall far short of actual needs. Referring to remarks by UN Humanitarian Coordinator Ramesh Rajasingham, Haq said that although rainfall is a natural phenomenon, the dangers people face as a result are caused by human actions. The coordinator said that most people were being forced to live in dilapidated tents that could not withstand rainfall and storms even slightly more severe than normal weather conditions. Such weather events, he noted, could ordinarily be managed in other parts of the world.
The UN spokesperson called for all restrictions obstructing the delivery of humanitarian supplies to Gaza to be lifted immediately. These restrictions are preventing aid organizations from bringing essential items into the territory, including water-pumping vehicles, drainage pumps, engine oil, machinery spare parts, tents, blankets and winter clothing. He also appealed for additional humanitarian funding, warning that without adequate financial resources, relief agencies would be unable to secure the supplies needed by the affected population. Meanwhile, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Gaza, airstrikes on populated areas are continuing, causing further casualties. On Saturday, UN staff members were visiting a camp for displaced people west of the Israeli-established Yellow Line in Gaza City when gunfire erupted nearby. They were subsequently forced to take immediate shelter in a safe location for their protection. No injuries among UN personnel were reported in the incident. The UN spokesperson stressed that civilians must be protected in accordance with international humanitarian law.
