Palestinian Civil Defense receives 1,500 distress calls from Gaza Strip amid heavy rains

The Palestinian Civil Defense announced on Saturday that it has received over 1,500 distress calls since the onset of the current weather depression.

It warned of a worsening humanitarian situation across the Gaza Strip—a region already facing catastrophic conditions—as tens of thousands of tents housing displaced people have been flooded, residential buildings have sustained damage, and there is a critical shortage of resources needed to respond to the crisis.

In statements reported by the Palestinian news agency “Sanad,” the Civil Defense noted that heavy rainfall has caused the flooding of camps and tents in various parts of the Strip.

The agency urged the international community not to overlook the dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza.

Furthermore, the Civil Defense called upon the world to address the severe humanitarian plight faced by Palestinians in Gaza, requesting the provision of tents capable of protecting people from rain, wind, and cold, alongside the urgent delivery of essential relief supplies.

Ongoing field efforts

As part of its field response, the Palestinian Civil Defense deployed 30 teams across various areas of the Gaza Strip to address distress calls, drain floodwaters, rescue affected families, and secure buildings at risk of collapse.

These efforts are ongoing, though responding to every report has proven difficult due to a critical shortage of equipment, machinery, and fuel.

The Government Media Office reported that approximately 70,000 tents were flooded within the first 12 hours of the storm, with initial material losses estimated at around three million dollars.

The Gaza Municipality further reported that approximately 60 millimeters of rain fell on the city between Friday night and Saturday afternoon.

Devastating rainfall

The rainfall led to the collapse of residential buildings that had already been damaged by Israeli bombardment.

Collapses were recorded in Gaza City, the al-Bureij refugee camp, and the al-Nuseirat refugee camp, while two individuals sustained injuries when a wall of a building collapsed in the northern part of Gaza Strip.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned that heavy rainfall and the flooding of shelters pose immediate risks to displaced persons—particularly those residing in low-lying areas or damaged buildings.

The OCHA has called for the entry of winter supplies, heavy machinery, spare parts, and fuel to bolster the humanitarian response.

These developments unfold amidst a severe shelter crisis; the Government Media Office estimates that approximately 162,000 out of 270,000 tents are now unfit for use.

With the onset of winter, the territory is in urgent need of interventions to provide safe shelter for hundreds of thousands of displaced people.