Gaza faces deadly winter floods as millions live in makeshift shelters
Over 2 million people in Gaza deal with harsh winter conditions in temporary shelters after widespread destruction. Heavy rains threaten to worsen already-critical water and health situations
Last winter Bisan Owda showed flooding in Gaza; now the situation looks way more dangerous. About 90% of Gazaʼs 2.1 million people dont have proper homes‚ and most live in make-shift shelters that cant handle rain
UN data from fall-2023 shows destruction of two-thirds of Gazaʼs buildings including:
* Most housing units
* All sewage plants
* Most water systems
* Key infrastructure elements
The so-called safe-zone Al-Mawasi (a 9-mile beach strip) now holds almost 2 million people in basic tents; its twice as crowded as Cairo. Winter brings serious health risks - waterborne diseases pneumonia and infections spread fast in wet conditions
Clean water access is critical: people get only 2.5 liters per day (normal crisis standard is 15). Basic items like soap cost $10‚ and shampoo isnt available at all. The water crisis affects everything; from drinking to cleaning - making disease control almost impossible
Doctors report shocking numbers: diarrhea cases are 25 times higher than before; and 86% of people face serious food shortages. Kids under 5 and older folks face the worst risks when winter floods mix with toxic waste from destroyed buildings
Failure to demonstrate a sustained commitment to implementing and maintaining these measures may have implications for U.S. policy
The US gave Israel 30 days to fix aid delivery but nothing changed. Aid groups say Israel met none of the requirements; and now delivers less help than ever. International courts started legal action - but without quick changes winter rains might cause a huge disaster
