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DesertPeaceISRAEL OPENS DAM GATES IN GAZA CAUSING HAVOC
January 19, 2010 at 1:20 pm (Gaza, Health Crisis, Israel, Palestine, Photography, zionist harassment)Text and photos transmitted by Ayman Quader in Gaza
Gaza – Many Palestinian houses were under water in Central Gaza after Israel opened a closed dam on Tuesday.
Israeli authorities opened the “Al-Wadi” dam without prior notice after heavy rainfall on the area.
Seventy citizens were rescued by Civil defense staffs. Medical sources said that 9 citizens were injured and transferred to Gaza hospitals.
They said that rescue teams rushed to the area and evacuated all the residents who live in distance of 500-600m in Al-Moghraqa, central Gaza Strip.
The minister of Social Affairs Ministry in Gaza, Ahmed Al-Kord, said that they opened Kafer Yasef School for 100 evacuated families. He added that the ministry provided them with the need supplies of food and sheetts.
Gaza flooded after Israel opens dam gates
Israel has opened the floodgates of one of its dams in the eastern part of the Gaza Strip, flooding Palestinian houses and causing severe damage.
The Israeli authorities opened the dam’s floodgates without any prior warning or coordination with local authorities in Gaza, stunning the residents of the area, the Press TV correspondent in Gaza reported late on Monday.
There has been heavy rain in the region over the past 24 hours. It seems the Israeli authorities could not handle the huge amount of rainwater and decided to open the floodgates without prior warning.
Because Gaza is located in a low-lying area and the elevation decreases on the way to the Mediterranean Sea, water gushed into the area, flooding two Palestinian villages and displacing a hundred Gazan families.
The locals say Israel intentionally caused the floods, the Press TV correspondent said.
The waters from the dam, called the Valley of Gaza, flooded houses in Johr al-Deek village, which is southeast of Gaza City, and Nusirat in the eastern part of the territory, where the Al-Nusirat refugee camp is also located.
The Valley of Gaza is about 8 kilometers long. It starts on the eastern Gaza border with Israel and ends in the Mediterranean.
The houses of many Palestinians have been flooded and a number of people are trapped inside or on their roofs, while many have also gone missing, the Press TV correspondent said.
Rescue teams are using small boats to evacuate the trapped people.
Hamas has condemned the act as a war crime and has called on all concerned parties to intervene and offer assistance to the locals.
The flooding has made life more difficult for the Gazans, especially for those still living in tents because their homes were destroyed in the December 2008-January 2009 Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.
In the war, more than 1,400 people were killed, mostly women and children, and over 10,000 houses were destroyed or damaged, forcing at least 500 families to live in tents.
Very little progress is seen in reconstruction of the devastated areas in the Gaza Strip, mostly due to the Israeli blockade, which has prevented the delivery of building materials to the coastal enclave.
The Israeli authorities opened the dam’s floodgates without any prior warning or coordination with local authorities in Gaza, stunning the residents of the area, the Press TV correspondent in Gaza reported late on Monday.
There has been heavy rain in the region over the past 24 hours. It seems the Israeli authorities could not handle the huge amount of rainwater and decided to open the floodgates without prior warning.
Because Gaza is located in a low-lying area and the elevation decreases on the way to the Mediterranean Sea, water gushed into the area, flooding two Palestinian villages and displacing a hundred Gazan families.
The locals say Israel intentionally caused the floods, the Press TV correspondent said.
The waters from the dam, called the Valley of Gaza, flooded houses in Johr al-Deek village, which is southeast of Gaza City, and Nusirat in the eastern part of the territory, where the Al-Nusirat refugee camp is also located.
The Valley of Gaza is about 8 kilometers long. It starts on the eastern Gaza border with Israel and ends in the Mediterranean.
The houses of many Palestinians have been flooded and a number of people are trapped inside or on their roofs, while many have also gone missing, the Press TV correspondent said.
Rescue teams are using small boats to evacuate the trapped people.
Hamas has condemned the act as a war crime and has called on all concerned parties to intervene and offer assistance to the locals.
The flooding has made life more difficult for the Gazans, especially for those still living in tents because their homes were destroyed in the December 2008-January 2009 Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.
In the war, more than 1,400 people were killed, mostly women and children, and over 10,000 houses were destroyed or damaged, forcing at least 500 families to live in tents.
Very little progress is seen in reconstruction of the devastated areas in the Gaza Strip, mostly due to the Israeli blockade, which has prevented the delivery of building materials to the coastal enclave.
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Israel opens Dam so Gaza submerges
Gaza – Many Palestinian houses were under water in Central Gaza after Israel opened a closed dam on Tuesday.
Israeli authorities opened the “Al-Wadi” dam without prior notice after heavy rainfall on the area.
Seventy citizens were rescued by Civil defense staffs. Medical sources said that 9 citizens were injured and transferred to Gaza hospitals.
They said that rescue teams rushed to the area and evacuated all the residents who live in distance of 500-600m in Al-Moghraqa, central Gaza Strip.
The minister of Social Affairs Ministry in Gaza, Ahmed Al-Kord, said that they opened Kafer Yasef School for 100 evacuated families. He added that the ministry provided them with the need supplies of food and sheetts.
[ 19/01/2010 - 10:50 AM ]
GAZA, (PIC)-- Israel opened Monday the floodgates of one of its dams in Gaza valley in the eastern part of the Gaza Strip in the aftermath of torrential rains in the region which seriously flooded Palestinian houses and caused severe material damage.
Eyewitnesses told the Palestinian information center (PIC) that the Israel occupation forces stationed there intentionally opened the floodgates without any prior warning or coordination with local authorities in Gaza which led to the influx of large amounts of rainwater into the valley.
Because Gaza is located in a low-lying area and the elevation decreases on the way to the Mediterranean sea, water gushed down into the area, flooding two Palestinian villages and displacing about a hundred Gazan families.
A number of people are still trapped inside or on their rooftops, while many have also gone missing, according to eyewitnesses.
Surging waters from the dam flooded houses in Johr Al-Deek village, southeast of Gaza city, Nusseirat village in the eastern part of the Strip, where Al-Nusseirat refugee camp is also located, and Al-Mughraqa town located within Gaza city.
The flooding has made life more difficult for citizens, especially for those still living in tents because their homes were destroyed in the last Israeli war on Gaza.
For his part, Yousuf Abu Hoaishal, the head of the municipal council of Mughraqa town, told the PIC on Monday evening that 50 homes at least were flooded after water levels dramatically rose in Gaza valley.
Abu Hoaishal added that the municipal and civil defense crews were working industriously on rescuing and evacuating citizens from the flooded areas.
The council head held Israel responsible for causing this flood with the intention to inflict mass destruction in Gaza areas.
He pointed out that the disaster could have been bigger if this flood had happened at night while citizens were asleep, affirming that the rapid intervention of rescue teams prevented casualties.
For his part, spokesman for the military medical services Adham Abu Salima said yesterday that 100 families whose homes were flooded were transferred to safe areas until providing them with emergency shelters.
Later, different Palestinian officials in Gaza have stated that the flood disaster was successfully managed and controlled, and all homeless citizens were provided with shelters.
In the same context, Dr. Ahmed Bahar, the first deputy speaker of the Palestinian legislative council, strongly denounced Israel for deliberately causing a flood in Gaza valley which rendered many citizens homeless.
Dr. Bahar condemned this behavior as a new war crime, calling on the international community to assume its responsibilities and hold Israel accountable for what happened.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri accused Israel of intentionally opening the dam’s floodgates in order to inflict damage on citizens and their property.
Spokesman Abu Zuhri appealed, in a press statement to the PIC, to international relief organizations to provide instant help to the citizens who suffered considerable damage in their homes.
Minister of agriculture Dr. Mohamed Al-Agha visited yesterday evening the affected areas in the vicinity of Gaza valley and affirmed that Israel did not give any warning about its intention to open the dam’s floodgates.
Dr. Agha warned that the continuing flow of water from the dam into the valley means that the lives of many citizens are still in danger, noting that the flood swept many homes, agricultural lands and livestock pens.
He said that Israel always look for any opportunity to double the suffering of the Palestinian people in Gaza.
River to Sea
Uprooted Palestinian
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