JERUSALEM, Nov 9 — Gaza’s rescue service said yesterday that five people died, three children and two women, in an incident linked to the heavy rains that began the day before.
“A sandy embankment collapsed onto tents housing displaced people at a shelter centre south of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip” said Mahmud Bassal, spokesperson for Gaza’s civil defence.
“Rescue teams are continuing to search for missing people,” he said. A video circulating on social media showed dozens of men at the scene, some trying to lift a large stone slab while others dug beneath it with shovels.
The agency further warned “displaced people against setting up tents or remaining near sand masses and elevated soil mounds, particularly during periods of rainfall, as these pose a real threat to their lives” and called on humanitarian organisations to provide the necessary equipment.
