KABUL (Pajhwok): The International Organization for Migration (IOM) says recent rainfall and flooding have caused dilapidated tents at displacement sites in Gaza to collapse, leaving many families without the few belongings they had left.
Karl Baker, head of IOM’s Gaza programme, said: “I visited a number of displacement sites around Gaza City today and saw the impact of recent flooding firsthand. Worn-out tents have collapsed. Children are wading through knee-deep, contaminated floodwater. Families have lost what few belongings they had left.”
He said IOM had been delivering thousands of tents and tarpaulins over the past few weeks, but available supplies fell far short of the scale of need.
He stressed that Palestinians in Gaza needed stronger and longer-lasting shelter options. Timber emergency shelter kits and prefabricated options, including relief housing units and caravans, must be funded and allowed into Gaza.
He added that the organisation’s teams and partners were working at some displacement sites to reduce flood risks and protect tents and access routes by creating drainage channels and using sandbags. However, most displaced people did not have access to such services.
He called for funding and humanitarian assistance, including tents, plastic sheets and blankets, and urged the removal of restrictions on the entry of essential equipment and supplies into Gaza.
According to the IOM, the organisation has also prepared water pumps, equipment needed to improve drainage systems and tens of thousands of sandbags for delivery to Gaza.
Meanwhile, Al Jazeera reported that heavy rainfall in central Gaza on Monday caused a mound of earth and sand to collapse onto tents sheltering displaced Palestinians, killing five people.
It said a woman and four children had died in the incident, while the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) confirmed the deaths of two women and three children.
Palestinian officials have condemned Israeli restrictions on the entry of essential shelter materials into Gaza and the international community’s failure to act on the issue.
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