Gaza's emergency services issue urgent appeal as winter downpour drowns displacement camps Gaza's Civil Defense Agency issued an urgent call for international mobilization on Saturday after a severe winter storm swept through the enclave, submerging entire displacement camps and destroying makeshift shelters housing hundreds of thousands of forcibly displaced Palestinians. Emergency crews reported receiving more than 1,500 distress calls across the Gaza Strip, as torrential rain and strong winds swept away makeshift canvas tents and forced floodwaters into makeshift shelters. The agency warned that civil defense personnel are unable to manage the complex crisis due to the deliberate Israeli blockade that prevents the entry of heavy machinery, water pumps, fuel and the supply of alternative shelter. Speaking to Al Jazeera, the Director of Civil Defense emphasized that women and children are now stuck in flooded camps as flood waters submerge tents and destroy family belongings. Humanitarian organizations emphasize that the disaster is a direct result of ongoing Israeli restrictions on basic aid materials and infrastructure restoration after months of widespread destruction, leaving over 90% of Gaza's population exposed to severe winter weather in dilapidated and unsealed shelters.

Gaza's emergency services issue urgent appeal as winter downpour drowns displacement camps Gaza's Civil Defense Agency issued an urgent call for international mobilization on Saturday after a severe winter storm swept through the enclave, submerging entire displacement camps and destroying makeshift shelters housing hundreds of thousands of forcibly displaced Palestinians. Emergency crews reported receiving more than 1,500 distress calls across the Gaza Strip, as torrential rain and strong winds swept away makeshift canvas tents and forced floodwaters into makeshift shelters. The agency warned that civil defense personnel are unable to manage the complex crisis due to the deliberate Israeli blockade that prevents the entry of heavy machinery, water pumps, fuel and the supply of alternative shelter. Speaking to Al Jazeera, the Director of Civil Defense emphasized that women and children are now stuck in flooded camps as flood waters submerge tents and destroy family belongings. Humanitarian organizations emphasize that the disaster is a direct result of ongoing Israeli restrictions on basic aid materials and infrastructure restoration after months of widespread destruction, leaving over 90% of Gaza's population exposed to severe winter weather in dilapidated and unsealed shelters.