Flooding in Gaza is making an already brutal life even more difficult for tens of thousands of people displaced and camping in the open. CNN footage shows men wading through waters as they try to save submerged makeshift tents and recover belongings washed away by the torrential rains. Families, whose children have bare feet, use debris to make toys.
The humanitarian situation in Gaza is already dire due to Israel’s incessant bombardment and siege imposed on the territory. This conflict has ravaged large areas of the Gaza Strip and resulted in a humanitarian crisis marked by food, fuel and water shortages. More than 2.2 million Palestinians face widespread hunger, dehydration and deadly disease.
Since October 7, the Israeli Defense Forces have launched an offensive aimed at eliminating Hamas after the militant group killed more than 1,200 people and kidnapped 250 others in attacks on southern Israel. At least 1.7 million people in Gaza have since been internally displaced, often multiple times, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Israeli attacks have killed at least 25,700 Palestinians since October 7, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry. The figures cannot be independently verified due to the difficulty of reporting information from the war zone.
Over the past week, Israeli Defense Forces have intensified their campaign in central and southern Gaza, forcing hundreds of thousands of people to take refuge in cramped areas lacking basic sanitation and clean water.
With the arrival of winter winds and heavy rains on the enclave, parents in Deir Al-Balah told CNN they could not sleep as they had to comfort their children. Images show flooded tents, children pulled from the water. Some civilians interviewed say they no longer have clothes for their children and ask that this situation stop.
The Gaza Strip is very vulnerable to climate change due to its location in the Mediterranean basin. Although the region is experiencing a decrease in annual precipitation, the frequency of extreme rainfall events and their intensity are increasing, which is expected to worsen as the Earth warms. In addition to bad weather, residents of Gaza face particularly cold winter conditions.
The situation is becoming increasingly desperate for Gaza residents, who are calling for a return to normal life, far from this constant suffering. Essential infrastructure is destroyed, food, drinking water and medicine are in short supply. The trauma caused by this conflict is immeasurable and the consequences on the population are devastating.
It is time for the international community to step in and provide immediate and long-term humanitarian assistance to Gaza. The suffering of residents must not be ignored and political solutions must be sought to end this cycle of violence and destruction. Gaza deserves a future of peace and prosperity, far from floods and devastation.