From the Guardian · · 1m 40s
Five dead in Gaza landslide as witnesses describe rescue effort
A sand bank collapsed on a displaced families' camp south of Deir al-Balah after heavy rain and high winds, killing five people including two children.
In brief
A sand bank collapsed on a displaced families' camp south of Deir al-Balah after heavy rain and high winds, killing five people including two children. Five people, including an eight-year-old and six-year-old, died when a sand bank collapsed on a camp for displaced families in Gaza after heavy rain and high winds on…
Sand bank collapses on Gaza camp
A sand bank overlooking a camp for displaced families south of Deir al-Balah collapsed on Sunday, killing five people and crushing at least three tents.
Children among the dead
Among the casualties were an eight-year-old, a six-year-old and their mother. The children's father was outside the tent and survived.
Witness describes horrifying scene
Abdul Karim al-Sahhar, thirty, from Izbat Beit Hanoun, said people were buried beneath sand and rocks. It was a horrifying sight with no trace of tents left.
“It was a horrifying sight. We saw people buried beneath the sand and rocks.”
Rescue effort hampered by boulder
The father shouted for help. Young men had to break a huge boulder into pieces to reach the people buried underneath the collapsed sand and rocks.
“Save my children! Save my children!”
Wider damage from weekend rains
The UN said more than twenty-six thousand households reported damage to shelters or belongings after the weekend's rainstorms. The Hamas-run government said about seventy thousand tents were flooded.
Overcrowding and lack of reconstruction
Gaza's population of two point three million live in tent encampments or bombed-out buildings. Toby Fricker of Unicef said the collapse was waiting to happen because Gaza is extremely overcrowded.
“The collapse was waiting to happen. Gaza is extremely overcrowded.”
Reconstruction stalled by restrictions
A US-brokered ceasefire called for Gaza's reconstruction, but little progress has been made. Israel says no reconstruction can happen before Hamas is disarmed. Prefabricated homes remain prohibited.
The one thing
Five people, including an eight-year-old and six-year-old, died when a sand bank collapsed on a camp for displaced families in Gaza after heavy rain and high winds on Sunday.
