GAZA CITY, Palestine

Heavy rains have worsened the plight of displaced Palestinians in the Gaza Strip amid a deadly Israeli war on the enclave, the Civil Defense Service said on Sunday.

“Rainfall has caused severe damage to tents housing thousands of displaced people with water flowing inside the tents and damaging luggage and mattresses,” spokesman Mahmoud Basal said in a statement.

“The current situation signals a real humanitarian catastrophe if immediate intervention does not take place,” he warned.

Heavy rains affected several areas across the Palestinian enclave, particularly central and southern Gaza on Sunday.

The spokesman appealed to the United Nations and the international community to quickly intervene to provide tents and caravans for displaced civilians in Gaza during winter.

Israel has launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip following a Hamas attack last year, killing more than 44,200 people, most of them women and children, and injuring over 104,500.

The second year of genocide in Gaza has drawn growing international condemnation, with figures and institutions labeling the attacks and blocking of aid deliveries as a deliberate attempt to destroy a population.

On Thursday, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice over its brutal war on Gaza.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi