Gaza displacement camps hit by floods amid winter storm

Palestinian Civil Defence crews say they rushed to flooded encampments south of Khan Younis as heavy rain swept through Gaza’s makeshift settlements, overwhelming tents that offer little protection after months of bombardment.

“Our teams evacuated several displaced families after their tents were also flooded,” the Civil Defence said, describing scenes of people wading through mud with what little they still own.

The agency said its responders “provided assistance to a number of displaced families whose tents were flooded in the vicinity of Bir 22 and helped them resecure the damaged tent pegs”, after severe weather tore through the area.

Winter has now settled over a devastated enclave where tens of thousands live under plastic sheets because Israeli attacks have wiped out entire neighbourhoods.

Cold winds and driving rain have turned crowded campgrounds into sodden, unsafe spaces, piling fresh hardship on families already pushed to the brink by Israel’s genocide.