PM directs foreign ministry to urgently ‘escalate humanitarian assistance’ for rain-hit Gaza

<p>Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Monday he had directed the foreign ministry to pursue all possible means to urgently “escalate humanitarian assistance” to Gaza, where heavy rains have flooded tens of thousands of tents housing displaced Palestinians.</p> <p>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> <p>Gaza’s civil defence service said it had received 1,500 distress calls from displaced residents.</p> <p>Municipal and civil defence officials ​said they were unable to cope with the storm because of fuel shortages and damage to equipment. They said Israel had destroyed hundreds ​of vehicles, including bulldozers and others used to pump water, during its assault on the territory.</p> <p>PM Shehbaz said photos from Gaza had been “heart rending”, with tents being flooded and Gazan children, with nowhere to go, being trapped and subject to starvation and extreme cold.</p> <p>“I have directed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to pursue all possible means to escalate humanitarian assistance urgently,” he posted on X.</p> <p>The premier added that he was also “deeply concerned about continued Israeli illegal actions to deny basic humanitarian assistance to the brave Palestinian people of Gaza”.</p> <p>“I strongly condemn these violations of the ceasefire and international law, and this continued aggression toward the Palestinian people.”</p> <figure class="media w-full w-full media-- media--embed media--uneven media--tweet"> <div class="media__item media__item--twitter "><span> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"> <a href="https://twitter.com/CMShehbaz/status/2119650802730230202"></a> </blockquote> </span></div> </figure> <p>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> <p>Last year’s US-brokered Gaza ceasefire calls for ​the eventual reconstruction of the territory. But little progress has been made towards implementing a deal and Israel <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/1952868">continues to violate</a> the ceasefire.</p> <p>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, ​mostly in temporary shelters with what aid agencies call inadequate aid supplies.</p> <p>A majority of Gazans are dependent on aid supplies, following three years of Israeli assault, repeated ​displacement and severe restrictions imposed by Israel on aid deliveries.</p> <p>Heavy rains and flooding has worsened their condition.</p> <p>On Sunday, at a tent encampment in Gaza City, some people tried to repair their tents, while others ​used sand to reinforce them and prevent water from entering. Some were busy getting their children out ⁠of flooded tents.</p> <p>Olfat Magdoub, a Gaza resident, tried in vain to sweep water away from her tent.</p> <p>“This is the first day of ​rain, and of course we are already flooded. What will happen if it rains again the next day? This is only the ​first day and we’re already overwhelmed,” said the woman.</p> <p>“Two 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.”</p> <p>Another resident, Rafiq Ghattas, standing barefoot in the middle of ​a large pool of rainwater, said: “We have no resources, no tarpaulins, no tents and no one is ⁠checking on ​us.”</p>