Gaza: Initial losses from the weather front "Birun" estimated at 4 million dollars

SadaNews - Initial estimates of the losses caused by the weather front "Birun" in the Gaza Strip have reached 4 million dollars.

According to the government media office in Gaza, the front has created a compounded humanitarian disaster that has exacerbated the suffering of civilians, especially in light of the ramifications of the genocide war and the suffocating blockade imposed by the occupation on the Gaza Strip.

It was noted that the bodies of 11 Palestinians were recovered by civil defense teams due to the collapse of several buildings that had been previously bombed by the occupation and were affected by the weather front and climatic conditions.

It was stated that at least 13 houses collapsed in the provinces of the Gaza Strip, as these homes had been subjected to bombing by the Israeli occupation.

It was mentioned that more than 27,000 tents of displaced persons were swept away and flooded, within a scene that has widely affected more than 53,000 tents, with partial and complete damage, indicating direct harm to more than a quarter of a million displaced persons, out of approximately one and a half million displaced people living in tents and makeshift shelters that do not provide the minimum protection.

The material losses were distributed across the displaced sector and tents, after more than 53,000 tents were partially or completely damaged or sunk, and the destruction of tarpaulins, plastic coverings, insulation materials, loss of mattresses, blankets, and sleeping gear, destruction of cooking utensils and essential materials inside the tents, and the collapse of emergency shelters in several gatherings. This sector is the most affected due to the transformation of displacement centers into ponds of water and mud.

The infrastructure and roads sector also suffered, including the erosion of hundreds of dirt roads and temporary routes within the provinces of the Gaza Strip, disruption of transport and transportation movements, difficulty in reaching ambulances and civil defense vehicles, damage to primitive sewage networks established out of necessity, flooding of entrances to schools and educational centers used as shelters, and damage to supportive service equipment within these centers.

Moreover, the water and sewage sector was impacted, with the disruption of temporary water transport lines, mixing of clean water with rainwater and mud, collapse of temporary absorption pits in dozens of crowded central gatherings of displaced persons, and increased risks of pollution and disease spread.

The food and supply sector was also affected, which includes damage to food stocks stored by thousands of Palestinian families, damage to food aid recently distributed in flooded areas, and loss of emergency supplies at some shelter centers.

In addition, the agricultural sector witnessed damages, including flooding of low agricultural areas, damage to agricultural lands and seasonal crops, destruction of dozens of makeshift greenhouses that sustain thousands of displaced families, and the loss of income for hundreds of families amid a lack of alternatives.

The health sector suffered damage, affecting dozens of mobile medical points in displacement and shelter centers, loss of medicines, medical supplies, first aid kits, and difficulty in accessing medical teams to affected areas.

Regarding the energy and lighting sector, damages include destroyed batteries and alternative lighting means, as well as erosion and malfunction of small solar panels in displacement centers and among displaced families.

The government media office stated that the aggravation of these losses cannot be separated from the inhumane policies of the Israeli occupation, which prevent the entry of 300,000 tents and mobile homes and caravans, hinder the establishment of safe shelters, and close crossings to relief and emergency materials. This constitutes a blatant violation of international humanitarian law and exposes civilians, especially women, children, and the elderly, to avoidable serious risks.

The government media office held the Israeli occupation fully and directly responsible for this extremely harsh humanitarian reality experienced by our Palestinian people, especially more than a million and a half displaced persons residing in shelters and forced displacement areas, after their homes were completely or partially destroyed by the occupation during the ongoing genocide war.

It called on the international community, the United Nations and its agencies, international and humanitarian organizations, intermediaries and guarantors of the ceasefire agreement, friendly countries, and donor entities to take serious, immediate, and urgent action to pressure the occupation to open the crossings without restriction, and allow the entry of shelter materials, tents, mobile homes, caravans, and emergency supplies as stipulated in the humanitarian protocol and in accordance with the terms of the ceasefire, as well as to provide genuine humanitarian protection to hundreds of thousands of displaced persons, and prevent the recurrence of flooding and collapse scenarios with any upcoming weather fronts. The situation in the Gaza Strip is catastrophic in every sense of the word, and everyone must fulfill their responsibilities before it's too late.