Gaza, November 07 (QNA) - With thousands of displacement tents submerged by rainwater, shelter conditions woefully inadequate and health and environmental conditions deteriorating profoundly, Palestinian Health Minister Majed Abu Ramadan has issued an urgent appeal to the international community, the United Nations and health, humanitarian and relief organizations to intervene immediately to save the lives of hundreds of thousands of displaced people in the Gaza Strip, warning that the risks of infectious diseases are mounting and that the lives of the most vulnerable are under threat, even as winter is still in its early stages.
In a statement Saturday, the Palestinian minister stressed that the situation is unfolding amid a complex health and humanitarian crisis, in which the consequences of widespread destruction of infrastructure and water and sewage networks, mounting waste, shortages of clean water and personal hygiene supplies, severe overcrowding in displacement centers, malnutrition and declining access to essential health services are converging, compounding risks to residents' health and creating conditions conducive to the spread of disease.
He explained that continued exposure to cold and damp conditions inside dilapidated tents, coupled with overcrowding and poor ventilation, increases the risk of respiratory infections, including influenza and pneumonia, and threatens to cause profound complications, particularly among children, infants, older people and patients, amid shortages of heating equipment, clothing and winter blankets.
Meanwhile, the Government Media Office in the Gaza Strip announced today that around 70,000 tents sheltering displaced people had been submerged by rainwater after a low-pressure weather system battered the Strip, within 12 hours of its impact beginning. It estimated the initial losses at approximately USD 3 million.
In a press statement, the office said the weather system had caused dozens of walls to collapse, resulting in injuries of varying severity, including serious injuries, across the Strip's governorates.
It warned of the risk of dozens of cracked and structurally unstable buildings collapsing after being subjected to bombardment during Israel's ongoing genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, which has continued for three years.
The office held the Israeli occupation fully responsible for the catastrophic repercussions, citing the continued closure of crossings and the prevention of essential shelter and reconstruction materials from entering the Strip, despite residents' urgent need for them.
It called on the international community and United Nations and international organizations to intervene immediately and shoulder their humanitarian, legal and moral responsibilities to save displaced people's lives and provide them with the basic means of resilience and protection.
The Gaza Strip has been affected since Friday by a deep low-pressure system accompanied by a cold air mass, falling temperatures and heavy rain falling intermittently over sustained periods. 
The rain has submerged a number of displacement tents in camps across the Strip and devastated their occupants' belongings, including mattresses, blankets and food supplies, further compounding the suffering of thousands living in dilapidated tents that lack even the most basic necessities of life. (QNA)