Heavy rain floods about 70,000 tents sheltering displaced Gazans

Heavy winter rain flooded tens of thousands of tents housing displaced Palestinians across the Gaza Strip on Saturday, according to local authorities and aid workers. The Hamas-run government media office said about 70,000 tents were flooded within about 12 hours as the first major storm of the season arrived.

The office said people were injured and that cracked walls and roofs had collapsed in places. An initial international account said no deaths from the flooding had been confirmed at that stage. Gaza's civil defence service described a surge of distress calls and said water rose in some shelter sites by about a foot or more, forcing people out of flooded tents.

Jonathan Veitch, the UNICEF representative for Palestine, told interviewers the situation was desperate and that nearly everyone needed help. He said Israeli restrictions on the entry of heavy machinery and supplies such as engine oil were making the response harder, and that aid teams were being stopped in the street by people asking for assistance. Israel says it restricts items that could have military uses.

Aid groups have warned that many families are living under worn plastic sheeting after repeated displacement, with limited access to clean water and sanitation. Officials in Gaza have said large numbers of replacement tents and other shelter materials have not been allowed in. A hospital director in Gaza City said an emergency department was put out of service for hours after it flooded and warned of disease risks as sewage mixed with rainwater.

The storm marks a harsh start to winter for people already living in makeshift camps. The 70,000-tent figure is the local authorities' count, and conditions can change quickly as more rain arrives.