Displaced Gazans struggle with winter chill as heavy rains lash shelters, camps

Emergency workers warned people not to stay in damaged buildings because they could collapse at any moment.

Gaza Strip : Rain lashed the Gaza Strip over the weekend, flooding makeshift encampments with ankle-deep puddles as Palestinians displaced by the two-year war attempted to stay dry in tents frayed by months of use.

Damaged tents at a beach camp shelter in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip. REUTERS

Muddy water soaked blankets and mattresses in tents in a camp in Khan Younis and fragile shelters were propped up with old pieces of wood. Children wearing flip-flops and light clothing ill-suited for winter waded through the freezing puddles, which turned dirt roads into rivers.