In the past few hours, thousands of tents of displaced Palestinians have been flooded as a result of heavy rains that fell heavily in several areas of Gaza due to a strong low-pressure system affecting the sector, which continues until Friday evening, at a time when the sector needs about 300,000 tents and prefabricated housing units after widespread destruction left by the Israeli aggression during two years of genocide.
The Gaza Strip has witnessed heavy rains since the early hours of Wednesday, which led to the flooding of thousands of tents sheltering hundreds of thousands of displaced people, with the water level inside some of them rising to more than 40 cm, amid fears of an exacerbation of the humanitarian disaster.
The displaced people are living a tragic reality due to the lack of basic necessities, the difficulty of accessing essential supplies, and the lack of vital services due to the continued Israeli blockade.
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Bassal said in a statement: "More than 250,000 families in displacement camps in the Gaza Strip are facing the cold and torrential rains in dilapidated tents."
Most of these displaced people are taking shelter in damaged tents, while the Government Media Office in Gaza estimated at the end of last September that the percentage of tents that are no longer suitable for habitation in the sector reached about 93%, amounting to 125,000 tents out of 135,000.
Over the course of nearly two years of genocide, tens of thousands of tents were damaged by Israeli bombing that directly hit them or targeted their surroundings, while some of them were worn out by natural factors such as the high heat of the sun in the summer and the winds in the winter.
Severe weather wave in Arab countries
A wave of bad weather on Wednesday, expected to continue in the coming days, exacerbated the suffering of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, and severe weather fluctuations including floods, thunderstorms and fog in several Arab countries.
For its part, the Saudi authorities warned of heavy rains on Wednesday, causing floods, lightning, and a lack of visibility in the Eastern Province and other areas.
Saudi accounts, including official ones such as Al-Ekhbariya channel, shared footage showing heavy rains causing floods in several regions of the Kingdom
Official platforms and media outlets circulated images of floods in Jeddah and Mecca, which led to flooded streets, disrupted traffic, and affected some flights.
In Iraq, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani directed on Wednesday that support be provided to those affected by the floods in Sulaymaniyah Governorate in the northern region of Iraq, with expectations that the country will witness more rain in the coming days.
For its part, the Bahrain Meteorological Directorate stated on Wednesday, in a post on the “X” platform, that a low-pressure system passing through the region will lead to atmospheric instability, with the possibility of rain starting on Thursday evening and increasing on Friday and Saturday, accompanied by strong winds and sometimes thunderstorms.
The Kuwaiti Meteorological Department, in turn, issued a weather alert via its account on the "X" platform, warning of thunderstorms and fog.
Similarly, the Sultanate of Oman, according to the Omani Meteorology Department, expected the country to be affected by a low-pressure system onon Saturday and Sunday, bringing a flow of clouds and scattered rain that may be thundery over a number of governorates.
The Qatar Meteorology Department also predicted, in a post via “X” on Wednesday, that the country would be affected by an extension of a low-pressure system starting on Friday, which would cause an increase in cloud cover with chances of scattered rain in some areas, which may sometimes be thundery.
In Egypt, the Egyptian Meteorological Authority issued a climate alert in a statement on Wednesday evening, indicating "the continued advance of rain clouds over areas of Greater Cairo with varying intensity rainfall, and the continuation of thunderstorms and rain over Lower Egypt and areas of the northeastern coasts."
The Syrian General Directorate of Meteorology warned on Wednesday of the formation of dense fog in a number of areas, calling on drivers to reduce speed and pay attention at turns, according to the official news agency.
The Syrian Meteorological Department explained in a second statement that fog will form at night, and the weather will be cloudy in all areas on Thursday morning, with opportunities for rain waves on the coast and southwestern regions, as a low-pressure system begins to move in, with rain gradually extending to the rest of the Syrian regions, with light to moderate rainfall waves.
The Lebanese Meteorological Department forecasts cloudy weather and a significant drop in temperatures for Thursday, with heavy rain, thunderstorms, and strong winds, in addition to snowfall at altitudes above 1,900 meters. This weather pattern is expected to repeat on Friday, while Wednesday saw light rain and fog on the mountains, according to the official news agency.
