Severe weather kills 14 in Gaza as flooded tents worsen humanitarian crisis

Gaza, December 13 (ANI): Severe weather over the past 72 hours has claimed at least 14 lives in Gaza, including three children, as heavy rain and cold conditions battered an already devastated enclave, CNN reported, citing the Gaza-based Health Ministry statement.

This came amid worsening conditions for Palestinians who have been living in tents and temporary shelters for nearly two years due to the ongoing war that has left much of Gaza in ruins.

Aid group Oxfam said widespread flooding has submerged tents, forcing families to wade through sewage, mud and debris with little to no protection from the elements, as per CNN.

In a statement on Saturday, the organisation said the dire situation is a "direct result of the systematic obstruction of aid," leaving civilians exposed during extreme weather.

Many residents described desperate conditions as rain destroyed their few remaining belongings. "The mattress, the blanket, everything, even the clothes, have become soaked with water," Um Mustafa said on Friday. "Bring me a mattress. Bring me a tent. I beg you, for God's sake, help me."

She said the only food she had left -- a bag of flour and rice -- was ruined after being soaked, triggering panic in the middle of the night. "I went out screaming to the neighbours, asking them for help," she said. "All my children became soaked by the rainwater."

Authorities and residents said tents, makeshift shelters and even damaged buildings collapsed while families were inside. Structures weakened by repeated Israeli bombardment during the war could not withstand the heavy rain. An eight-month-old baby, Rahaf, died of hypothermia, her family stated.

According to the Hamas-run government media office in Gaza, more than 27,000 tents were swept away or flooded during the storm. The office described the situation as a "complex humanitarian disaster" affecting at least 250,000 people, according to CNN.

Israel and Hamas reached a truce in October that brought the two-year war to a halt and allowed for the release of all living Israeli hostages. Israel also permitted humanitarian aid to enter Gaza as part of the first phase of the agreement.

However, Oxfam said Israeli authorities "continue to block the entry of basic shelter materials, fuel and water infrastructure," warning that civilians are being exposed to "entirely preventable harm."

"When access is denied, storms become deadly. This suffering is being manufactured by policy, not weather," the aid group said.

The Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), the Israeli agency tasked with facilitating aid distribution in Gaza, said in a statement that Israel is "committed to" and "fully upholds" its "obligation to transfer humanitarian aid trucks in accordance with the agreement."

"In this framework, hundreds of trucks enter each day carrying food, water, fuel, gas, medicines, medical equipment, tents and shelter equipment," the agency said. "Over the last few months, COGAT coordinated with the international community and facilitated the transfer of close to 270,000 tents and tarpaulins directly to the residents of the Gaza Strip."

"We are planning a catered humanitarian response for the upcoming winter," COGAT said.

Despite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's public embrace of the deal in September, significant gaps remain for the progression of the ceasefire agreement.

The US is pushing to move quickly into the next phase, but Israel is conditioning major steps on the return of the final deceased hostage and has been resisting US efforts to resolve a standoff with a pocket of isolated Hamas militants in the Israeli-occupied parts of southern Gaza. (ANI)

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