Web Desk(National Times)- Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Monday he had directed the foreign ministry to pursue all possible means to urgently \u201cescalate humanitarian assistance\u201d to Gaza, where heavy rains have flooded tens of thousands of tents housing displaced Palestinians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Gaza government media office said on Sunday that at least 70,000 tents had been flooded in the past 12 hours, affecting tens of thousands of displaced people and causing injuries, although no fatalities had been reported. The rains and subsequent flooding has also washed away shelters, according to authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gaza\u2019s civil defence service said it had received 1,500 distress calls from displaced residents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Municipal and civil defence officials \u200bsaid they were unable to cope with the storm because of fuel shortages and damage to equipment. They said Israel had destroyed hundreds \u200bof vehicles, including bulldozers and others used to pump water, during its assault on the territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
PM Shehbaz said photos from Gaza had been \u201cheart rending\u201d, with tents being flooded and Gazan children, with nowhere to go, being trapped and subject to starvation and extreme cold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI have directed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to pursue all possible means to escalate humanitarian assistance urgently,\u201d he posted on X.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The premier added that he was also \u201cdeeply concerned about continued Israeli illegal actions to deny basic humanitarian assistance to the brave Palestinian people of Gaza\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI strongly condemn these violations of the ceasefire and international law, and this continued aggression toward the Palestinian people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gaza has been subjected to Israeli assault for long, particularly following an attack by Hamas on Israel on Oct 7, 2023. Palestinian authorities say more than 74,000 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel began its assault on the territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last year\u2019s US-brokered Gaza ceasefire calls for \u200bthe eventual reconstruction of the territory. But little progress has been made towards implementing a deal and Israel continues to violate the ceasefire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Israeli forces still hold more than 60 per cent of the territory and conduct almost daily airstrikes, while Hamas controls most of the area where more than two million Palestinians live, \u200bmostly in temporary shelters with what aid agencies call inadequate aid supplies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A majority of Gazans are dependent on aid supplies, following three years of Israeli assault, repeated \u200bdisplacement and severe restrictions imposed by Israel on aid deliveries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Heavy rains and flooding has worsened their condition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Sunday, at a tent encampment in Gaza City, some people tried to repair their tents, while others \u200bused sand to reinforce them and prevent water from entering. Some were busy getting their children out \u2060of flooded tents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Olfat Magdoub, a Gaza resident, tried in vain to sweep water away from her tent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is the first day of \u200brain, and of course we are already flooded. What will happen if it rains again the next day? This is only the \u200bfirst day and we\u2019re already overwhelmed,\u201d said the woman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTwo weeks ago when it rained, I swear to God, I spent four days sleeping on blankets spread on the floor because the rainwater had flooded the bedding. Same now, the mattresses are wet so we sleep on the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another resident, Rafiq Ghattas, standing barefoot in the middle of \u200ba large pool of rainwater, said: \u201cWe have no resources, no tarpaulins, no tents and no one is \u2060checking on \u200bus.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Web Desk(National Times)- Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Monday he had directed the foreign ministry to pursue all possible means to urgently \u201cescalate humanitarian assistance\u201d to Gaza, where heavy rains have flooded tens of thousands of tents housing displaced Palestinians. The Gaza government media office said on Sunday that at least 70,000 tents had […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":136173,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-136172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n