Injuries and hundreds of tents submerged.. The low-pressure system exacerbates the tragedy of displaced people in Gaza

Gaza City witnessed a tragic incident today, Thursday, resulting in varying injuries to three displaced people, following the collapse of a wall of a building that had been previously subjected to Israeli shelling. Field sources clarified that the dilapidated wall could not withstand the strong winds and heavy rains accompanying the current low-pressure system, leading to its collapse on the displaced people who were sheltering next to it. The injured were immediately transferred to the hospital to receive the necessary medical care.

In the central part of the Strip, specifically in Deir al-Balah city, local sources reported the submersion of hundreds of tents housing thousands of displaced families, after accumulated rainwater turned the displacement areas into pools of mud. Water leaked into temporary shelters, causing damage to blankets, clothes, and essential supplies, amid a complete lack of sewage networks and infrastructure capable of accommodating these quantities of rain.

Displaced families in the western areas of Gaza City face extremely harsh conditions, as the dilapidated tents are unable to provide even minimal protection from the bitter cold and strong winds. These deteriorating weather conditions have increased the suffering of citizens who have lost their homes and are now facing the risk of death not only due to military operations but also as a result of difficult environmental and climatic conditions and a lack of shelter and heating materials.

For their part, civil defense specialists and engineers issued urgent warnings about the danger of staying near facilities and buildings at risk of collapse, emphasizing that the saturation of cracked walls with rainwater increases the likelihood of their sudden collapse. The specialists called on the displaced to exercise the utmost caution and to stay away from rubble and buildings that have been previously hit by airstrikes, to preserve their lives amid the continued low-pressure system.

It is worth noting that the Gaza Strip has been experiencing an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe since the outbreak of the war in October 2023, with statistics indicating that about 1.9 million Palestinians are now displaced and lack safe shelter. This wave of bad weather reveals the extent of the massive destruction that has affected residential areas and places the international community before its responsibilities towards hundreds of thousands of families living in tents that do not meet the minimum standards of human safety.

Continued impact of the low-pressure system may lead to further collapses in damaged buildings and double the risks threatening the lives of displaced people.