Photos and videos shared by an Al Jazeera journalist show a young man standing in water up to his thighs and holding a body in his arms as he wanders the street in Jabalia camp, north of Gaza. A tragedy in the drowning Palestinian enclave, hit by terrible floods while 80% of the population was displaced due to Israeli attacks. Some even camp in makeshift tents.
Published on: December 13, 2023 – 8:33 p.m
2 minutes
With our correspondent in Jerusalem, Sami Boukhelifa
“It was raining at 2 a.m.,” Asma explains. And since then Gaza has been inundated by a flood. “It’s too cold,” she adds. Because without electricity there is no heating. Asma and her parents are still in their home in Khan Yunis, but not everyone in Gaza is so lucky.
The majority of the population is destitute and lives in tents made of plastic sheets and blankets. Feet in water and mud, with a failing plumbing system tested by repeated wars. The garbage has hardly been collected for weeks and is clogging the pipes that were partially destroyed by the strikes.
It took me too long to know what to write in the caption but no words can describe this pain❗️#Gaza Genocide, with all that the word brings with it in terms of meaning, pain and destruction❗️ pic.twitter.com/LkmezQzIvk
—Nour Naim| نور نعيم (@NourNaim88) December 13, 2023
The darkest chapter in Palestinian history since 1948
“This war has toughened me,” says Asma. But Gaza has almost always been hell and she doesn't want to live there: “I'm stronger, but I dream of leaving Gaza.” Even before the war, I dreamed of leaving Gaza, finding a job elsewhere and a different life outside of Gaza. »
Bombings, water and food shortages, disease and now winter is coming. Added to this are cold temperatures and floods. “The Palestinians are facing the darkest chapter in their history since 1948,” said Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
Also read: Gaza, the humanitarian catastrophe