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Heavy rains hit southern Gaza on Wednesday, bringing mud, flooding and, in some cases, illness to the thousands of displaced Palestinians living in makeshift tents in this corner of the besieged enclave.
“We didn’t get our winter clothes from Gaza City when we left more than a month ago,” Ramzi Mohammed, 31, told The Washington Post in a phone call. Mohammed is in Rafah with his wife and three children. “The only thing we do at night is hug each other to warm up,” he said.
During their ground assault on Gaza, Israeli forces ordered residents south to Khan Younis and Rafah to seek shelter. According to Gaza's health ministry, the war has already killed at least 18,000 Palestinians and injured 50,000. And Khan Younis, once considered safe, is now the site of some of the fiercest fighting.
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About 1.9 million people in Gaza – 90 percent of the territory's population, according to the United Nations – have been displaced. Many now live in tents covered with whatever blankets or clothing they can find.
“You can’t buy blankets on the market,” Mohammed said. “But [even] If it’s available, I can’t afford the price.”
Computer models simulated that 10 to 35 millimeters (0.4 to 1.4 inches) of rain fell over Gaza as a low pressure zone pulled moist air inland from the Mediterranean. Reports from the Israeli Meteorological Service showed that about that amount fell along much of the Mediterranean coast. Ashkelon, an Israeli city north of Gaza, received 15.9 mm (0.6 in).
The low pressure area is now moving eastwards and dry, seasonal weather is forecast for the region over the coming days. The rain that occurred in Israel and Gaza is typical of the period between November and March, which is generally considered the region's rainy season.
The rain exacerbated problems for an already struggling health system. Combined with the spread of disease and overcrowding, the United Nations called the situation “a public health disaster” on Wednesday.
“The shelters have long exceeded their full capacity and people are queuing for hours just to get to a toilet – one toilet is available for hundreds of people,” said Lynn Hastings, the UN humanitarian coordinator for the Palestinians Territories, in a statement to the newspaper Press. “This will lead to nothing other than a health crisis.”
Hastings said Israel's evacuation orders jeopardize aid operations.
“Just trying to provide food to the people of Rafah is extremely difficult,” she added.
Mahmoud Aziz, 36, is among those who fled south to Rafah on Israel's orders. He now lives in a building with about 70 people.
“Our whole family has diarrhea, which seems to be caused by the water we drink or the cold weather,” he said. “We leave the windows open because of the bombing; We are afraid of the glass if there is a bombing.”
Jason Samenow contributed to this report.