Hamas Slams International Silence on Gaza Flooding and Humanitarian Crisis
According to the International Desk of Webangah News Agency, Hazem Qassem, the spokesperson for the Hamas movement, stated during an official press statement that the unfolding humanitarian crisis—sparked by heavy rainfall submerging the tents of hundreds of displaced Palestinian families in Gaza—highlights the failure of the global community to compel the Zionist regime to lift its brutal and unlawful blockade on the enclave.
Qassem emphasized that, alongside the occupying regime, international institutions and figures bear direct responsibility for this ongoing tragedy. He specifically pointed to the so-called Peace Council and its chief, Nickolay Mladenov, accusing them of failing to ensure the delivery of essential humanitarian aid and breaking the siege affecting more than two million residents trapped in the strip.
The Hamas official noted that the worsening humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip underscores the urgent necessity for mediators to uphold prior agreements. He stressed that international actors must force the occupying regime to fully comply with its obligations, particularly regarding the unhindered entry of relief supplies and vital shelter equipment.
In another segment of his remarks, Qassem called upon the Arab League to take swift, decisive action commensurate with its mission and core objectives to rescue Gaza from the ongoing humanitarian disaster. Simultaneously, the Gaza Civil Defense reported that heavy downpours and fierce winds have flooded refugee camps across various parts of the enclave, destroying a vast number of makeshift tents.
The agency added that since early morning, it had received more than 1,500 emergency calls and pleas for assistance from citizens whose tents had been compromised by storms and heavy rains across all governorates of the Gaza Strip. Furthermore, intense gales caused part of a building to collapse in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, prompting prompt intervention by rescue crews who successfully evacuated residents to safer locations.
The Director of Civil Defense in the Gaza Governorate emphasized the critical nature of the situation, urgently appealing to the international community to dispatch tents for displaced persons and provide necessary logistical equipment to safeguard civilian lives. Sounding the alarm over the disastrous onset of the winter season, the Gaza Civil Defense reiterated that relentless storms and rainfall have inflicted widespread devastation on refugee camps throughout the territory.
