Fears of New Disaster after Heavy Rain Hits Eastern Libya

Floods that hit the city of Shahat, eastern Libya (Media Office of the Ambulance and Emergency Service)
Floods that hit the city of Shahat, eastern Libya (Media Office of the Ambulance and Emergency Service)
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Fears of New Disaster after Heavy Rain Hits Eastern Libya

Floods that hit the city of Shahat, eastern Libya (Media Office of the Ambulance and Emergency Service)
Floods that hit the city of Shahat, eastern Libya (Media Office of the Ambulance and Emergency Service)

Heavy rains hit several cities in eastern Libya, flooding streets and homes, and prompting some municipalities to declare a state of emergency.

The bad weather also urged head of Libya's parliament-appointed government, Osama Hammad, to instruct relevant bodies to take necessary measures to protect and rescue stranded citizens.

Libya has witnessed two days of heavy rainfall and flooding in Al Bayda city, Sousse and Shahat.

Citizens in those cities fear a disaster scenario similar to Derna, where flooding caused by hurricane-strength Storm Daniel tore through eastern Libya, leaving at least 4,200 people dead and thousands more missing last September.

On Sunday, the Ambulance and Emergency Service said its emergency teams had evacuated some families stranded by the floods.

The Service then declared a state of emergency in Shahat due to the heavy rains. It also deployed its teams throughout the city to help citizens in the event of any emergency.

In Al Bayda, the municipal council addressed the commander-in-chief of the Libyan National Army, Marshal Khalifa Haftar, and the government of Hammad, saying the city has been “submerged by floods” since Saturday, forcing the relevant authorities to evacuate homes.

The municipal council then urged concerned authorities to find quick and effective solutions to overcome this disaster, and to restore normal life in the city.

Hammad had earlier gave orders for action following heavy rainfall and flooding in Al Bayda city in the Green Mountain region. He also directed both the Interior and Local Governance ministries to raise preparedness levels to the maximum and coordinate with relevant government bodies to alleviate the suffering of citizens in the Green Mountain region.



More than 43,000 Palestinians Killed in Yearlong War in Gaza, Palestinian Health Ministry Says

 Displaced Palestinians ordered by the Israeli military to evacuate the northern part of Gaza take a rest as they flee amid an Israeli military operation, in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip October 23, 2024. REUTERS/Hassan Al-Zaanin/File Photo
Displaced Palestinians ordered by the Israeli military to evacuate the northern part of Gaza take a rest as they flee amid an Israeli military operation, in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip October 23, 2024. REUTERS/Hassan Al-Zaanin/File Photo
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More than 43,000 Palestinians Killed in Yearlong War in Gaza, Palestinian Health Ministry Says

 Displaced Palestinians ordered by the Israeli military to evacuate the northern part of Gaza take a rest as they flee amid an Israeli military operation, in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip October 23, 2024. REUTERS/Hassan Al-Zaanin/File Photo
Displaced Palestinians ordered by the Israeli military to evacuate the northern part of Gaza take a rest as they flee amid an Israeli military operation, in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip October 23, 2024. REUTERS/Hassan Al-Zaanin/File Photo

The number of Palestinians killed in the yearlong war in Gaza has passed 43,000, more than half of them women and children, the Palestinian Health Ministry said Monday.

The tally includes 96 dead who arrived at hospitals in Gaza over the past two days, the ministry said.

Israeli troops have launched an ongoing operation in northern Gaza that included a raid on a hospital over the weekend. The military said it detained 100 suspected Hamas militants in a raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya on Friday.

The World Health Organization accused Israel of detaining 44 male hospital staff. Palestinian medical officials said the hospital, which was treating some 200 patients, was heavily damaged in the raid, Reuters reported.

Israel has raided several hospitals in Gaza over the course of the yearlong war, saying Hamas and other militants use them for military purposes. Palestinian medical officials deny those allegations and accuse the military of recklessly endangering civilians.

An Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity in keeping with regulations, said there was heavy fighting around Kamal Adwan Hospital, though not inside it, and that weapons were found inside the facility.

The official said medical staff were detained and searched because some of the militants had disguised themselves as medics.

According to the official, the military had helped international organizations relocate 88 patients and medical staff to other hospitals in the weeks leading up to the raid, and that during the raid itself, troops had brought 30,000 liters of fuel and medical supplies from international organizations to help keep the facility running.

The Israeli military has called on Palestinians to evacuate northern Gaza, where it has been waging a large offensive for more than three weeks. The official said the operation in the northern Gaza city of Jabaliya would last “several more weeks.”

The UN said earlier this month at least 400,000 people are still in northern Gaza and hunger is rampant as the amount of humanitarian aid reaching the north has plummeted over the past month.

The Gaza Health Ministry said at least 43,020 people have been killed and 101,110 others wounded since the war started on Oct. 7, 2023.