Gaza floods.. The “peace council” led by Trump rebukes Israel for its inadequate response

The "Peace Council" led by the administration of US President Donald Trump urged Israel to allow necessary aid to enter the Gaza Strip, describing its response to the massive floods that swept the devastated Strip over the weekend as "insufficient." According to the United Nations, monsoon rains have flooded tens of thousands of tents across the Gaza Strip, where nearly two million Palestinians displaced from their homes live.

The Peace Council said in a statement, "The urgent entry and distribution of basic shelter supplies, sanitation facilities, water drainage systems, and other materials needed to confront the winter season is critical to protecting civilian lives." The Council was established at the initiative of the Trump administration and with the support of a resolution issued by the United Nations Security Council. It was supposed to supervise the implementation of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza - which was signed a year ago - and the reconstruction of the Strip, but these efforts have faltered for months.

The Peace Council called on Israel to "allow the entry of materials necessary to provide temporary shelters, build water and sanitation infrastructure, waste management, water drainage, and wastewater treatment." It is noteworthy that a large part of the civilian infrastructure in Gaza was destroyed as a result of the Israeli bombing of the Strip over the course of 3 years of war.

For his part, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday: “We will continue to support winter preparations in Gaza,” noting the entry of other humanitarian supplies into the Strip, adding that “as long as Hamas remains in power, it will exploit any dual-use materials that enter Gaza to consolidate its terror-based regime and expand its military arsenal.” The former head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, described the Council's assessment of the Israeli response to the floods as "far below reality," noting that this assessment represents a "rare admission" that Israel is not doing enough to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. He then criticized the Council - which usually avoids sharp criticism of the Israeli government.

An earthen berm collapsed in Deir al-Balah over the tents of displaced Palestinians following heavy rains on Sunday, killing three children and a woman, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, who led a multinational effort to impose sanctions on Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, warned: “The humanitarian situation in Gaza is getting worse; heavy rain, flooded tents.