Palestinians are calling for better tents and other supplies as Israel maintains restrictions on aid to the war-torn Gaza Strip.
Displaced Palestinians are reeling after heavy rains flooded their tents in makeshift displacement camps in Gaza City, as the United Nations warns that Israeli restrictions on aid have left hundreds of thousands of families without adequate shelter.
Abdulrahman Asaliyah, a displaced Palestinian, told Al Jazeera on Friday that residents' mattresses, clothing and other belongings were soaked by the flood.
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“We are asking for help, new tents that can at least protect people from the winter cold,” he said, explaining that nearly two dozen people had been working for hours to remove water from the area.
“This winter rain is a blessing from God, but there are families who no longer wish for it to fall, fearing for the lives of their children and their own survival,” Asaliyah said.
Gaza's civil defense agency said Friday's floods mainly affected Palestinians in the northern Strip, where hundreds of thousands of people have returned following last month's ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
Flooding was also reported in Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, the rescue agency said, urging the international community to do more to “address the suffering” of Palestinians whose homes were destroyed in Israel's two-year war in the enclave.
“We urge the rapid delivery of houses, caravans and tents to these displaced families to help alleviate their suffering, especially now that we are at the beginning of winter,” he said in a statement.
While the Oct. 10 ceasefire has allowed more aid to reach the Gaza Strip, the UN and other humanitarian groups say Palestinians still lack food, medicine and other critical supplies, including shelter.
Aid groups working to provide shelter in the occupied Palestinian territory said in early November that around 260,000 Palestinian families, in total almost 1.5 million people, were vulnerable as the cold winter months approached.
The UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) said this week it has enough shelter supplies to help up to 1.3 million Palestinians.
But UNRWA said Israel continues to block its efforts to bring aid to Gaza despite the ceasefire agreement, which stipulates that humanitarian assistance must be delivered to Palestinians in need.
“We have very little chance of protecting families from the winter rains and cold,” said Angelita Caredda, Middle East and North Africa director at the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), in a statement on November 5.
Al Jazeera's Hind Khoudary, reporting from Deir el-Balah on Friday, said Palestinians across Gaza have been expressing fears that this winter would be particularly difficult due to the lack of safe shelter.
“It only rained for a couple of minutes, 30 minutes or so… [and] They were completely flooded,” he said. “Their tents are very fragile and worn out; “They have been using them for the last two years.”
He added that most Palestinians have no choice but to remain in overcrowded tent camps or shelters, despite the difficulties.
“We are already seeing Palestinian children walking barefoot. They don't have winter clothes. They don't have blankets. And at the same time, the aid coming in… is being restricted,” Khoudary said.
Back in Gaza City, another displaced Palestinian affected by the heavy rains, Abu Ghassan, said he and his family “no longer have a normal life.”
“I'm raising the mattresses so the children don't get wet,” he told Al Jazeera. “But here the little ones were already soaked. We don't even have proper tents.”
