Devastated Gaza, a watery hell.
A year after the fragile ceasefire, it remains a place of suffering, as the Palestinian people, before they can even get back on their feet after the war, are once again being battered by the rain.
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“We’re flooded. Where are the aid organizations? Where is the help? Are you waiting for us to drown first? All the tents and streets are flooded.”
A Gaza resident
The severe storm that struck the devastated enclave proved devastating. The images are blood-curdling.
Raging torrents are sweeping everything away. Streets and camps are drowning in muddy water, and with them the thousands of displaced people who are forced to survive in this hell for a fourth winter, without food, drinking water, or a dry place to sleep.
With water up to their knees, they are struggling to save whatever they can of their meager belongings. Parents holding their children in their arms, who haven’t slept for three days and nights, as they have nowhere to lay their heads.
“The entire camp is flooded, and our children are soaked. Look, they woke up and found themselves in the water. There’s nothing left—no blankets, no mattresses, not even tents.”
A Gaza resident
Despair is overwhelming. People are at the mercy of their fate and are pleading in vain for help.
“There are 1,700 families living in this camp. Just think how many children there are in those 1,700 families. For God’s sake, have mercy on us.”
Gaza resident
The nightmare reached its peak last night when, in Deir al-Balah, a hill of dirt and rocks collapsed, crushing tents and those inside them. At least five people died, four of them children. Dozens more were pulled out injured.
“We were digging with our bare hands to get people out. We were cutting through the blankets covering them with knives. We managed to save one child, then a second and a third… a pregnant woman, and then a man.”
Mohamed Abdelal – Displaced Person
An unimaginable humanitarian tragedy for a people who have been teetering between life and death for years. People who are alive—yet dead. Children who have never known what peace means.
“We live in fear and wonder what will become of us. Will we drown tonight? What will happen to us? We have suffered unimaginably; we have no strength left. We just want a little peace.”
Fatma Al-Najar – Displaced Mother
According to the UN, 950,000 Palestinians remain displaced, with one-third in urgent need of shelter, in this narrow strip of land that, among other things, is also facing the potential spread of epidemics.
Watch Yiannis Xenophontos’s report:
