Dozens of makeshift houses in Gaza Strip have been flooded since Thursday night due to heavy rains amid an extreme cold wave hitting the region.
Rainfalls had poured into houses sheltering dozens of Palestinian families in several areas across the blockaded coastal enclave.
Using fishing boats, civil defence services managed to rescue the residents of the flooded houses and moved them to safe places.
Fearing the floods, dozens of Palestinian families have already left their homes in several parts of the Gaza Strip.
Residents of flood-prone areas vacated their homes after local authorities warned that such areas were in danger of being flooded with rainwater and sewage.
Local authorities have said the cold spell could cause a “humanitarian disaster,” as the Strip’s war-battered infrastructure cannot not withstand heavy rainfall.
Already undeveloped as a result of Israeli 11-year blockade, the Strip’s rickety infrastructure sustained further damage during Israeli 51-day military onslaught in July and August of 2014.
Over 2,160 Palestinians were killed – and some 11,000 injured – during the Israeli seven-week war, which was the third major Israeli offensive on Gaza in a six-year span.
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