Torrential rainfall and flooding pile on misery to displaced Gazans

UNITED NASTIONS, Dec 14 (APP): URGENT Heavy rains created new misery in Gaza as UN humanitarian officials reiterated deep concerns on Thursday over the deteriorating health situation in the Strip, amid ongoing Israeli bombardment and fighting with members of the Palestinian resistance.

The UN Humanitarian Affairs Coordination Office, OCHA, said that many areas in the enclave have been flooded, “worsening the struggle of displaced Palestinians” Almost 1.9 million people in the enclave have been uprooted by the violence and more than half have sought safety in the southern town of Rafah. UN Palestine Refugee Agency (UNRWA) shelters in the south of the Strip are nine times over capacity and scores of people live outdoors, exposed to the harsh weather, or in makeshift shelters. OCHA said that in overcrowded shelters, sewage cannot be managed. Combined with the flooding and the accumulation of waste, the conditions have attracted insects, mosquitoes and rats, further compounding the risks of disease spread.

Earlier this week the Gaza health authorities said that they had documented 360,000 cases of infectious diseases in shelters and that the actual numbers could be higher. Meanwhile, on Wednesday humanitarian partners providing water, sanitation and hygiene support to Gaza’s population reported an urgent need for construction materials to fix damaged water pipelines. “Inability to provide repairs could result in water being cut off from certain areas in the south of Gaza”, OCHA said. Kamal Adwan Hospital, in Beit Lahiya north of Gaza City, was raided by Israeli troops on Wednesday for the second consecutive day, OCHA said, “with reports of mass arrests and ill-treatment of people who they have detained”.

According to OCHA five doctors and all the female staff detained the previous day were released from custody but the hospital’s director and some 70 other medical staff “remain detained in an unknown location outside of the hospital”. UN health agency, WHO, expressed concern about the raid and urged the protection of patients and staff inside the hospital. UN-appointed human rights experts sounded the alarm on Thursday over the “tragic consequences” of the conflict for women and girls in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.