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Israel and the Middle East

Hamas-run authorities say rain flooded 70,000 tents in Gaza in 12 hours

Gaza’s Hamas-run civil defence says it received more than 1,500 weather-related calls on 7 November as rain flooded camps for displaced people; the figures are unverified.

By Endtime Begins 1 min read
Flooded tents of displaced Palestinians after heavy rain in Gaza
Photo: Ashraf Amra / CC BY-SA 3.0 igo / Wikimedia Commons

Heavy rain flooded camps for displaced people in the Gaza Strip on 7 November, according to Hamas-run authorities cited in the Times of Israel’s liveblog. Hamas-run civil defence said it received more than 1,500 weather-related calls. Hamas’s government media office said rain flooded 70,000 tents within 12 hours and put the damage at about $3 million.

The media office blamed Israel for restricting the entry of shelter equipment. Israel says it limits items that could be used as weapons, the Times of Israel noted. None of the figures were independently verified in the source, and they come from the Hamas-run administration.

Winter rains have caused repeated flooding in Gaza’s tent camps, where large numbers of people remain displaced. The photograph with this report is a file image of earlier flooding in Deir el-Balah and not from 7 November.

Reporting note: This report relies on a Times of Israel summary of statements by Hamas-run bodies; the tent and damage figures are unverified, and the source gives no independent assessment of shelter supplies. Israel’s position is given only in one line.

Photo: Ashraf Amra / CC BY-SA 3.0 igo / Wikimedia Commons