RAFAH, Palestinian Territories: Torrential rains lashed a tent camp for displaced people in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah, where frightened Palestinian children can no longer distinguish between thunder and Israeli bombardment.
The storm fell overnight Monday to Tuesday in the southernmost Gaza Strip city, adding to the anguish of Palestinians who fled the war between Hamas and Israel, many without warm clothes, blankets or proper footwear.
Oum Abdullah Alwan said her children “screamed in fear” because “we can’t tell the difference between the sound of rain and the sound of shelling.”
“’It’s shelling, Mum, we have to run,’” one of the children told Alwan, who was displaced from Jabalia further north, and now lives with more than a dozen family members in a tent in the makeshift camp.
She asked her son: “Is that the sound of shelling?” He told her it was thunder.
The rain, accompanied by biting winds, soaked foam mattresses and the meagre belongings of the camp’s residents.
“We are 14 people living in a tent and we cannot find a single dry mattress to sleep on, or even a dry blanket. We have been soaked in rainwater all night,” said Alwan.
Like other parents, she said she huddled with her children, embracing them to quell their shivers and “feel a little warmth.”
“How much longer will we live in this torment? How much longer?,” she cried out.
The war, now in its sixth month, has devastated vast swathes of Gaza and pushed hundreds of thousands to flee their homes seeking safety.
Many have flooded into Rafah, on the border with Egypt, where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to launch a ground offensive as he hunts Hamas militants.
The war broke out after an unprecedented attack by Hamas on October 7 resulted in about 1,160 deaths in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.
Militants also seized about 250 hostages, of whom Israel believes 130 remain in Gaza, including 33 who are presumed dead.
Israel retaliated with relentless air, ground and sea bombardment on the Gaza Strip that has killed at least 31,819 people, mostly women and children, the health ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory says.
Hundreds of thousands of people are now also on the brink of famine, the United Nations and international aid groups have warned.
An estimated 1.5 million Palestinians now live in Rafah, most of them displaced from other parts of the Gaza Strip and living in a sea of makeshift tents.
In the camp, a group of children walked past the tents wearing sandals or even barefoot.
“I’ve told you many times not to play here,” an old man shouted at them. “It’s (the water is) dirty. You’ll get sick.”
Residents complained that rainwater was seeping through the tents, drenching them and their belongings and making them ill.
Many tried to patch up their improvised homes with whatever they could find.
Mahmoud Saad gathered sand and pushed it against the edge of his family’s tent to stop the water, with help from his daughter Aya.
“Winter is usually a blessed season, but not for Gaza,” said Aya.
Further away, Akram Al-Arian, who is displaced from Khan Yunis, said when the rain fell he too was confused, thinking it was another Israeli bombardment.
“I held my children close to me like a hen protecting her chicks,” Arian said.
“I didn’t know what to do. I’m tired of living in a tent.”
Abir Al-Shaer, also originally from Khan Yunis, said her children had “developed a psychological obsession with rockets.”
“Every sound is a rocket sound to them, even when the tent flap flutters in the wind, they think it’s the sound of a rocket.”
Rafah displaced shiver as thunder and rain lash tent camp
https://arab.news/cy594
Rafah displaced shiver as thunder and rain lash tent camp
- Oum Abdullah Alwan said her children “screamed in fear” because “we can’t tell the difference between the sound of rain and the sound of shelling”
- The rain, accompanied by biting winds, soaked foam mattresses and the meagre belongings of the camp’s residents
Zindani govt begins reshaping security leadership
- US backing for the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council’s efforts
ADEN: Yemen’s government under Prime Minister Shaya Al-Zindani has begun implementing a series of decisions to restructure the leadership of the security services, in a move seen as a significant step toward reorganizing state institutions in the temporary capital, Aden.
It comes amid renewed US support for the Presidential Leadership Council’s efforts to bolster stability, combat terrorism and safeguard international maritime routes.
The chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad Al-Alimi, issued two presidential decrees appointing Brig. Gen. Abdulsalam Qaid Abdulqawi Al-Jamali as commander of the Special Security Forces and Brig. Gen. Abdulsalam Abdulrab Ahmed Al-Omari as head of the Civil Defense Authority, with both officers promoted to the rank of major general.
The decisions are part of a broader Yemeni effort to rebuild the leadership structure of security institutions, while strengthening the state’s capacity to enforce security and stability in liberated areas amid the country’s multiple security challenges.
Alongside the presidential decrees, Yemeni Interior Minister Ibrahim Haidan issued a series of leadership changes within Aden’s security services, including the reassignment of several security officials, as part of a plan aimed at improving operational efficiency and strengthening coordination among units.
The decisions included reassigning Brig. Gen. Jalal Al-Rubaie from his post as commander of the National Security Forces to lead the Special Security Forces in Aden, as well as appointing Brig. Gen. Mohammed Abdo Al-Subeihi as deputy director general of Aden Police and assistant for security affairs.
The appointments also included Brig. Gen. Jalal Fadl Al-Qutaibi as assistant director general of Aden Police for human resources and financial affairs; Brig. Gen. Mohammed Khaled Haidara Al-Turki as assistant director general for operations; Brig. Gen. Hassan Mohsen Saleh Al-Omari as director of the Criminal Investigation Department, with Col. Fouad Mohammed Ali appointed as his deputy; and Lt. Col. Mayas Haidara Al-Jaadani as director of the Anti-Narcotics Department.
The Yemeni Ministry of Interior said the measures are intended to reorganize field operations, raise security readiness levels, accelerate response time to threats and improve institutional discipline within security agencies. It believes the changes will help consolidate stability in the temporary capital of Aden and improve security and service performance in the city.
Yemeni-American Partnership
The government’s steps coincided with a meeting between Al-Alimi and US Ambassador to Yemen Steven H. Fagin, during which they reviewed the latest developments at the local level.
The two sides also discussed the US and international support required to strengthen Yemen’s capacity to confront security and terrorist threats, protect vital facilities and secure international shipping lanes, noting that this is an issue of regional and global priority amid escalating tensions
According to an official media source, Al-Alimi reiterated his appreciation of the Yemeni-American partnership and praised Washington’s role in supporting the implementation of resolutions to prohibit the smuggling of Iranian arms to the Houthi militia, drying up their funding sources and curbing destabilizing operations.
Al-Alimi highlighted the importance of reinforcing joint deterrence against regional threats, including the need to strictly enforce international sanctions and to pursue financing, smuggling and arms networks, in support of the government’s efforts to extend state control across all Yemeni territory.
He added that the security of the Red Sea and Bab Al-Mandab Strait is a global concern that requires broad international coordination.
Al-Alimi said that the Yemeni government is exerting efforts to normalize economic and service conditions, and to implement plans designed to integrate forces and unify security and military decision-making processes. He added that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia supported these efforts, as it has played a pivotal role in advancing stability and rebuilding state institutions.
