Heavy rains continue to worsen the misery of displaced Palestinians in Gaza News of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Heavy rains for days have flooded hundreds of temporary shelters across Gaza, worsening the misery for displaced Palestinians as Israel continues to restrict humanitarian access amid its genocide.

Forcibly displaced families across Gaza are struggling to keep their children warm and salvage what few possessions they have left.

While the weather is expected to improve in the coming days, for some it is already too late. At least seven people, including six children, died of hypothermia over the past week.

The cold weather has put Gaza’s already devastated healthcare system under further pressure. A field hospital in the city of Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip, was flooded with water.

Palestinian Civil Defense says flood waters rose to more than 30 cm (12 inches) in damaged tents, leaving displaced Palestinians exposed to the cold and causing damage to their belongings and mattresses.

The emergency service said the tents – located in areas including north of Gaza City and south of Khan Yunis, as well as in central Deir al-Balah – had become unusable due to flooding.

Hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians are crammed into inappropriate tents, most of which were hastily erected in Deir al-Balah, Khan Yunis and Rafah, where Gaza’s 2.4 million people suffer from severe shortages of potable water, food and medicine.

Israel Genocide in Gaza At least 45,541 Palestinians have been killed and 108,338 injured since October 7, 2023.