Symbolic imageSand cliff collapse kills five as storm floods Gaza camps
A winter storm flooded about 70,000 tents in Gaza on Saturday, according to the Hamas-run government media office. On Sunday a sandbank collapse in Deir el-Balah killed at least five people, local health authorities said.
Rain and wind had hit Gaza since late Friday. Civil Defence spokesperson Mahmoud Basal said teams logged about 1,500 distress calls and work without equipment, while the Jerusalem Post cites 2,166 calls, only 218 of them answered. According to Al Jazeera, four of the five dead are children and rescuers are still searching for survivors. Authorities say at least 300,000 tents are needed and more than 2,000 buildings risk collapse.
Israel rejects the criticism
On Sunday, Israeli security officials said COGAT, the Board of Peace and the UN had already delivered 91,000 tents, waterproof tarps and 9,000 truckloads of clothing and blankets. They said reconstruction equipment and mobile homes will stay out while Hamas does not disarm, and accused Hamas of exploiting aid to rearm.
Aid groups blame restrictions
Save the Children says tents, shelter kits and fuel wait at Gaza's borders because Israeli authorities block them. OCHA had warned in October that 950,000 people live in sites at flood risk, more than 400,000 at high risk.
Other opinions
The Jerusalem Post describes a Hamas campaign blaming Israel, while Al Jazeera, Tehran Times and Telesur attribute the shortages to Israeli aid restrictions.