Rafah (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – Torrential rains lashed a tent camp for displaced people in Gaza's southern city of Rafah, where frightened Palestinian children can no longer distinguish between thunder and Israeli bombardment.
Issued on: 19/03/2024 -
Men and boys gather to inspect a destroyed vehicle following overnight Israeli bombardment at the Rafah camp in southern Gaza
© SAID KHATIB / AFP
The storm fell overnight Monday to Tuesday in the southernmost Gaza Strip city, adding to the anguish of Palestinians who fled the war between Hamas and Israel, many without warm clothes, blankets or proper footwear.
Oum Abdullah Alwan said her children "screamed in fear" because "we can't tell the difference between the sound of rain and the sound of shelling".
"'It's shelling, Mum, we have to run,'" one of the children told Alwan, who was displaced from Jabalia further north, and now lives with more than a dozen family members in a tent in the makeshift camp.
She asked her son: "Is that the sound of shelling?" He told her it was thunder.
The rain, accompanied by biting winds, soaked foam mattresses and the meagre belongings of the camp's residents.
"We are 14 people living in a tent and we cannot find a single dry mattress to sleep on, or even a dry blanket. We have been soaked in rainwater all night," said Alwan.
Like other parents, she said she huddled with her children, embracing them to quell their shivers and "feel a little warmth".
"How much longer will we live in this torment? How much longer?," she cried out.
The war, now in its sixth month, has devastated vast swathes of Gaza and pushed hundreds of thousands to flee their homes seeking safety.
Many have flooded into Rafah, on the border with Egypt, where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to launch a ground offensive as he hunts Hamas militants.
The storm fell overnight Monday to Tuesday in the southernmost Gaza Strip city, adding to the anguish of Palestinians who fled the war between Hamas and Israel, many without warm clothes, blankets or proper footwear.
Oum Abdullah Alwan said her children "screamed in fear" because "we can't tell the difference between the sound of rain and the sound of shelling".
"'It's shelling, Mum, we have to run,'" one of the children told Alwan, who was displaced from Jabalia further north, and now lives with more than a dozen family members in a tent in the makeshift camp.
She asked her son: "Is that the sound of shelling?" He told her it was thunder.
The rain, accompanied by biting winds, soaked foam mattresses and the meagre belongings of the camp's residents.
"We are 14 people living in a tent and we cannot find a single dry mattress to sleep on, or even a dry blanket. We have been soaked in rainwater all night," said Alwan.
Like other parents, she said she huddled with her children, embracing them to quell their shivers and "feel a little warmth".
"How much longer will we live in this torment? How much longer?," she cried out.
The war, now in its sixth month, has devastated vast swathes of Gaza and pushed hundreds of thousands to flee their homes seeking safety.
Many have flooded into Rafah, on the border with Egypt, where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to launch a ground offensive as he hunts Hamas militants.
Rafah now houses 1.5 million people, most of them displaced and living in a massive camp of makeshift tents © SAID KHATIB / AFP
The war broke out after an unprecedented attack by Hamas on October 7 resulted in about 1,160 deaths in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.
Militants also seized about 250 hostages, of whom Israel believes 130 remain in Gaza, including 33 who are presumed dead.
Israel retaliated with relentless air, ground and sea bombardment on the Gaza Strip that has killed at least 31,819 people, mostly women and children, the health ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory says.
Hundreds of thousands of people are now also on the brink of famine, the United Nations and international aid groups have warned.
'Tired of living in a tent'
An estimated 1.5 million Palestinians now live in Rafah, most of them displaced from other parts of the Gaza Strip and living in a sea of makeshift tents.
In the camp, a group of children walked past the tents wearing sandals or even barefoot.
"I've told you many times not to play here," an old man shouted at them. "It's (the water is) dirty. You'll get sick."
Residents complained that rainwater was seeping through the tents, drenching them and their belongings and making them ill.
The war broke out after an unprecedented attack by Hamas on October 7 resulted in about 1,160 deaths in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.
Militants also seized about 250 hostages, of whom Israel believes 130 remain in Gaza, including 33 who are presumed dead.
Israel retaliated with relentless air, ground and sea bombardment on the Gaza Strip that has killed at least 31,819 people, mostly women and children, the health ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory says.
Hundreds of thousands of people are now also on the brink of famine, the United Nations and international aid groups have warned.
'Tired of living in a tent'
An estimated 1.5 million Palestinians now live in Rafah, most of them displaced from other parts of the Gaza Strip and living in a sea of makeshift tents.
In the camp, a group of children walked past the tents wearing sandals or even barefoot.
"I've told you many times not to play here," an old man shouted at them. "It's (the water is) dirty. You'll get sick."
Residents complained that rainwater was seeping through the tents, drenching them and their belongings and making them ill.
Torrential rains added to the misery of camp residents
© SAID KHATIB / AFP
Many tried to patch up their improvised homes with whatever they could find.
Mahmoud Saad gathered sand and pushed it against the edge of his family's tent to stop the water, with help from his daughter Aya.
"Winter is usually a blessed season, but not for Gaza," said Aya.
Further away, Akram al-Arian, who is displaced from Khan Yunis, said when the rain fell he too was confused, thinking it was another Israeli bombardment.
"I held my children close to me like a hen protecting her chicks," Arian said.
"I didn't know what to do. I'm tired of living in a tent."
Abir al-Shaer, also originally from Khan Yunis, said her children had "developed a psychological obsession with rockets".
"Every sound is a rocket sound to them, even when the tent flap flutters in the wind, they think it's the sound of a rocket."
© 2024 AFP
Many tried to patch up their improvised homes with whatever they could find.
Mahmoud Saad gathered sand and pushed it against the edge of his family's tent to stop the water, with help from his daughter Aya.
"Winter is usually a blessed season, but not for Gaza," said Aya.
Further away, Akram al-Arian, who is displaced from Khan Yunis, said when the rain fell he too was confused, thinking it was another Israeli bombardment.
"I held my children close to me like a hen protecting her chicks," Arian said.
"I didn't know what to do. I'm tired of living in a tent."
Abir al-Shaer, also originally from Khan Yunis, said her children had "developed a psychological obsession with rockets".
"Every sound is a rocket sound to them, even when the tent flap flutters in the wind, they think it's the sound of a rocket."
© 2024 AFP
'Destroyed': Gaza family erects shelter on home's ruins
Jabalia (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – The makeshift shelter sits atop the ruins of the Kahlout family's shattered Gaza home, which took them 30 years to build but was destroyed in moments by war.
Issued on: 19/03/2024 -
Jabalia (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – The makeshift shelter sits atop the ruins of the Kahlout family's shattered Gaza home, which took them 30 years to build but was destroyed in moments by war.
Issued on: 19/03/2024 -
Heavy bombardment has destroyed swathes of Gaza
© JACK GUEZ / AFP
They were shocked to return to rubble after fleeing fighting around their house in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, yet they had to decide what to do next.
"We pitched a tent over the rubble and we are staying here. Where to go? There's no where to go, there's no shelter," said 60-year-old Oum Nael al-Kahlout.
"It's our memories, our house which we worked hard to build and we spent 30 years building it," she added.
Over five months into the war sparked by Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel, the heavy bombardment has flattened swathes of the densely populated Palestinian territory.
At the Kahlout's shelter, concrete blocks serve as stairs and a garland of red pennants hang limply from the roof of sheet metal. There are no windows and the walls are about waist-high.
The structure -- which houses a couch, some cooking utensils and a bed -- is surrounded by a desolate landscape of shattered concrete that used to be buildings.
'We eat nothing'
The bloodiest ever Gaza war broke out after Hamas's attack resulted in about 1,160 deaths in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Militants also seized about 250 hostages, of whom Israel believes 130 remain in the Gaza Strip, including 33 who are presumed dead.
Israel has responded with a relentless offensive against Hamas that Gaza's health ministry says has killed at least 31,819 people, most of them women and children.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees said the destruction in Gaza has created 23 millions tonnes of debris in the narrow coastal territory.
"It will take years to clear the rubble & unexploded ordnance," UNRWA wrote on social media on Friday.
Yet for people like Kahlout, who shares the shelter with her husband Saed Ismail al-Kahlout, food is the most pressing need.
Half of Gazans are experiencing "catastrophic" hunger, with famine projected to hit Gaza's north by May unless there is urgent intervention, a UN-backed food assessment warned Monday.
The situation is particularly dire in the north, where the United Nations says there are about 300,000 people and where famine was "imminent... projected to occur anytime between mid-March and May".
"We don't receive any aid. We eat ground weeds, when we find mallow weed. We cook it in water and drink it as soup," said Oum Nael, referring to an edible herb.
Her husband added that seeking help from charities had made little difference: "Hopefully we receive a plate of mallow weed or something. It's always mallow weed, we eat nothing."
© 2024 AFP
They were shocked to return to rubble after fleeing fighting around their house in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, yet they had to decide what to do next.
"We pitched a tent over the rubble and we are staying here. Where to go? There's no where to go, there's no shelter," said 60-year-old Oum Nael al-Kahlout.
"It's our memories, our house which we worked hard to build and we spent 30 years building it," she added.
Over five months into the war sparked by Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel, the heavy bombardment has flattened swathes of the densely populated Palestinian territory.
At the Kahlout's shelter, concrete blocks serve as stairs and a garland of red pennants hang limply from the roof of sheet metal. There are no windows and the walls are about waist-high.
The structure -- which houses a couch, some cooking utensils and a bed -- is surrounded by a desolate landscape of shattered concrete that used to be buildings.
'We eat nothing'
The bloodiest ever Gaza war broke out after Hamas's attack resulted in about 1,160 deaths in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Militants also seized about 250 hostages, of whom Israel believes 130 remain in the Gaza Strip, including 33 who are presumed dead.
Israel has responded with a relentless offensive against Hamas that Gaza's health ministry says has killed at least 31,819 people, most of them women and children.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees said the destruction in Gaza has created 23 millions tonnes of debris in the narrow coastal territory.
"It will take years to clear the rubble & unexploded ordnance," UNRWA wrote on social media on Friday.
Yet for people like Kahlout, who shares the shelter with her husband Saed Ismail al-Kahlout, food is the most pressing need.
Half of Gazans are experiencing "catastrophic" hunger, with famine projected to hit Gaza's north by May unless there is urgent intervention, a UN-backed food assessment warned Monday.
The situation is particularly dire in the north, where the United Nations says there are about 300,000 people and where famine was "imminent... projected to occur anytime between mid-March and May".
"We don't receive any aid. We eat ground weeds, when we find mallow weed. We cook it in water and drink it as soup," said Oum Nael, referring to an edible herb.
Her husband added that seeking help from charities had made little difference: "Hopefully we receive a plate of mallow weed or something. It's always mallow weed, we eat nothing."
© 2024 AFP
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