Gaza City Mayor Yahya Elsraj told the Safa news agency:
There is a great fear of a repeat of the Deir al-Balah disaster in the near future, given the presence of camps in low-lying areas near the sea, among sand hills and buildings that may collapse.
The recurrence of this tragedy is highly expected in light of the severity of the displacement areas' exposure to collapses and drowning during depressions in the weather.
The municipalities have no equipment or mechanisms to provide relief to citizens in the event of a recurring disaster, despite repeated appeals to provide equipment and spare parts.
Israel deliberately prevents the entry of necessary equipment, spare parts, oils and fuel, which disrupts the work of the municipalities and harms their ability to respond to emergencies.
Municipalities are forced to rely on the private sector to rent machines in disaster situations, but the lack of equipment and oils is delaying the response to citizens' requests.
After 10 days, stations, pumps and generators in the Gaza Municipality will stop due to the exhaustion of the amounts of oil needed to operate them. The comprehensive deficit threatens to worsen the environmental and humanitarian disaster with the coming of winter, especially when the price of a liter of fuel and oil will reach NIS 4,000.
What is happening reflects Israel's insistence on making life difficult in the Gaza Strip.
We demand the opening of the crossings, the entry of the necessary equipment, and the obligation of Israel to implement its obligations in accordance with the humanitarian protocol to prevent the recurrence of the Deir al-Balah disaster and the tragedies of the first depression.