Khan Younis mayor: Evacuation of 1,000 displaced persons’ tents begins to prevent rain-related disaster
The mayor of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, Alaa al-Din al-Batta, announced on Monday that the evacuation of 1,000 dangerous settlements housing displaced persons in the Khan Younis area has begun to prevent a disaster caused by the rains.
In a statement to the Palestinian news agency Safa, al-Batta added that the municipality, in cooperation with international and Arab organizations, has begun evacuating these 1,000 dangerous settlements.
He explained that since this morning, more than 300 tents located in very low-lying and dangerous areas, near the beach and other locations, have been evacuated.
He noted that new camps have been set up for the families being evacuated, near the Hamad residential city, and tents have been prepared for them there.
He reported that a number of citizens have been relocated and provided with transportation, in coordination with several parties.
The mayor of Khan Younis said, “We have registered a thousand cases of people in danger this winter, and we are working to evacuate them as much as possible. We started the campaign despite the obstacles in providing alternatives for all cases.”
He confirmed that the campaign is ongoing and that more families will be evacuated in the coming days.
He pointed out that there are a large number of displaced people in dangerous areas, such as areas that are already rainwater collection points, sewage drains, and part of a landfill, as well as others in low-lying areas.
He mentioned that a number of displaced people were evacuated from several areas last year, explaining that the municipality advised citizens and warned them against staying or setting up tents in those areas. However, they remained for various reasons, forced to stay due to the overcrowding of displaced people in al-Mawasi area.
Al-Batta explained that the municipality is trying to prevent a disaster in the areas classified as dangerous by all means, especially with the arrival of the current storm in al-Mawasi area.
Rain has returned to the Gaza Strip as a low-pressure system, accompanied by a cold air mass and very heavy rainfall, began affecting the region today.
Displaced people’s tents were flooded by the deep low-pressure system that struck the area days ago. The flooding and the collapse of several homes resulted in the deaths of 11 people and injuries to others, while 53,000 tents belonging to displaced people were damaged.