Cairo, Dec 10, (dpa/GNA) – Heavy rain has flooded tents in the Gaza Strip on a large scale, after a storm system struck the region, reports said on Wednesday.
Israel and the Palestinian territories have been hit by hours of rain and high winds, exacerbating conditions for the many in the devastated Gaza Strip who are currently living in tents.
Photos on social media showed Palestinians in the Gaza Strip attempting to bail water out of their tents with buckets and pots. Children are shown standing ankle-deep and barefoot in water.
Citing aid officials, Israel’s Haaretz newspaper reported that many tents had collapsed. People were seeking shelter in overcrowded public buildings with no heating, it said.
Ahmed Abu Ramad, a 42-year-old Palestinian living in a tent in the south of the Gaza Strip, told dpa he feared his tent could collapse. “I spent the whole night holding the main pole with both hands,” he said. His wife held their five children close to keep them warm, as water poured in from all sides.
Maha al-Sein, a 33-year-old woman, said she was living with her family in a room in a partially collapsed building in Gaza City, and her children had worried the roof could fall in.
Israeli media reported that passengers aboard a yacht on its way to Cyprus from Israel, were listed as missing after contact was lost.
A flight from Cyprus to Israel was forced to divert over Lebanese territory, even though Israel and Lebanon are still formally at war.
The storm is expected to last until Friday.
GNA