Gaza, MINA – Amnesty International stated on Wednesday that the devastation and suffering caused by recent heavy rainfall and storms in Gaza are the foreseeable consequences of Israel’s ongoing actions and constitute an utterly preventable tragedy, Anadolu Agency reported.
In a statement, the human rights organization said the scenes of flooded tents and collapsed buildings “cannot be blamed solely on bad weather.” Erika Guevara Rosas, Amnesty’s senior director for research, advocacy, policy, and campaigns, asserted that these conditions are the result of Israel’s ongoing policies and deliberate blocking of shelter and repair materials for displaced persons.
The statement emphasized that Israel’s severe restrictions on supplies entering Gaza are further indication that Israeli authorities are “deliberately inflict[ing] on Palestinians in Gaza conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction.” Amnesty characterized this as a violation of the Genocide Convention.
Rosas described the storm’s impact as “yet another wakeup call to the international community, paid for with the lives of people who had managed to survive two years of Israel’s ongoing genocide.” She called for urgent international pressure on Israel to end the blockade and lift all restrictions on life-saving supplies, including shelter materials, food, and medicine.
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The statement highlighted the extreme vulnerability of Gaza’s population, with the majority living in dilapidated tents or damaged shelters after repeated displacement and widespread destruction. It shared the testimony of Mohammed Nassar, whose children Lina, 18, and Ghazi, 15, died when their damaged home collapsed on December 12.
The warning follows reports from UNRWA that Storm Byron has severely worsened conditions for thousands of displaced people, with many tents flooded and supplies ruined. Palestinian authorities estimate a need for around 300,000 tents and prefabricated units to meet basic shelter needs.[]
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
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