Buildings damaged in Israeli bombings risk collapse as rain inundates Gaza

Gaza City – Rana Adnan Hmeida, 29, stands at the entrance to her tent in al-Mina camp in northern Gaza, holding her two-month-old daughter as she tries to keep her warm after rainwater has flooded their shelter overnight. The family’s bedding, blankets and clothes are all soaked, with her children exposed to the cold and wind of Gaza’s latest storm. Hmeida, her husband and children have been awake since midnight as heavy rain and strong winds swept through the camp. Water seeped into the tent and drenched their belongings.

With all their clothes wet, Hmeida had to ask neighbours to help dry their clothes. “Since midnight, we have been sitting awake. Water came into our tent, and the bedding, blankets and everything else got soaked. In the morning, I found my son and little daughter shivering.

My two-month-old baby was freezing,” Hmeida told Al Jazeera. “What am I supposed to do? Hold my children or try to stop the water? I was trying to keep them warm while carrying my little girl, but the water kept coming in.