UN Raises Alarm Over Flood Risks in Gaza Camps Ahead of Winter

(MENAFN) The United Nations has raised concerns about the growing dangers facing displaced Palestinians in the Gaza Strip as winter draws closer, warning that heavy rain could flood temporary shelters and trigger ground collapses. Humanitarian operations are also struggling with funding shortages and restrictions on essential supplies, according to reports.

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric cited assessments by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), highlighting the risks confronting families sheltering in vulnerable areas of Khan Younis.

"we assessed displacement sites hosting over 650 families in Khan Younis, including 160 families staying in a low-lying pit that used to collect rainwater and is now at risk of being flooded with both rain and sewage."

The assessment also covered five additional displacement locations in low-lying areas of Khan Younis, where approximately 750 people were staying. These sites were examined on Monday as part of efforts to identify potential hazards before the onset of winter.

"We also assessed a sixth site hosting a number of families on the edge of a cliff overlooking the five low-lying sites," he said. "We are concerned that soil erosion this winter could cause the ground beneath the tents there to collapse."

Humanitarian organizations are working to reduce the dangers by clearing drainage systems, placing sandbags and leveling uneven ground in areas where displaced communities have established temporary shelters. However, these measures remain constrained by insufficient funding and limitations on the delivery of essential materials into the territory.

"drainage clearance, sandbagging and ground-levelling to support such communities. But efforts are held back by funding shortfalls and restrictions on the entry of a range of critical supplies."

The shortage of shelter materials is another major concern, particularly as hundreds of thousands of families prepare to face colder and wetter conditions without adequate protection.

Dujarric said shelter organizations had reported that "the supplies currently available are only enough to partially support less than a fifth of the nearly 300,000 families in need of winter shelter assistance."

Israel's genocidal war on Gaza, launched with US support in October 2023, has killed more than 74,000 people and injured over 175,000, while destroying 90% of civilian infrastructure.

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