This Photo Shows Heavy Rains Flooding Makeshift Shelters in Sudan, Not Gaza
The Claim
This night in Gaza was horrible. Tents were flooded by the rainwater.
Emerging story
Social media users and foreign news outlets widely shared a photo purporting to show makeshift shelters for displaced Palestinian families flooded during heavy rain amid the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza.
An Instagram user recently shared the photo, along with the caption, “This night in Gaza was horrible. Tents were flooded by the rainwater.”
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar investigated the viral photo and found the claim to be misleading.
After conducting a thorough reverse image search, Misbar’s team found the photo making the rounds to be from Sudan, not Gaza.
Old Photo Shows Heavy Rains Flooding Shelters in Sudan
Misbar’s investigative team verified that the photo originates from Sudan, not Gaza, as claimed.
A local news outlet uploaded the photo on July 26, 2024, showing rainwater flooding tents in displacement centers in Kassala, a Sudanese city hosting tens of thousands displaced by the war.
In addition, another local outlet reporting on the torrents in Sudan published the same photo on July 29, 2024.
12 Sudanese Died Due to Torrent and Heavy Rain in Kassala
The Sudanese Ministry of Health confirmed the death of 12 people due to torrents and heavy rains in late July 2024 in Sudan's eastern states, particularly in Kassala.
Heavy rains swept through the internally displaced persons' tents in Kassala's industrial camps.
Sudan experiences annual waves of torrents and floods from June to October due to seasonal rainfall. These rains intensify the hardships of citizens already enduring the war between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces, ongoing since mid-April 2023.
According to the United Nations, as of July 2024, the conflict claimed over 15,000 lives and displaced around 10 million people. However, The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine’s Sudan Research Group recently estimated that over 60,000 people died in the Khartoum region alone.
Heavy Rains Flooded Hundreds of Makeshift Shelters in Gaza
On January 1, heavy rains inundated hundreds of makeshift shelters across Gaza, deepening the suffering of displaced Palestinians as Israel maintains restrictions on humanitarian aid amid its ongoing genocide.
Hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians crammed into inadequate tents hastily erected in Deir el-Balah, Khan Yunis, and Rafah. Meanwhile, Gaza’s 2.4 million residents endure dire shortages of clean water, food, and medicine.
Forcibly displaced families in Gaza face immense challenges trying to keep their children warm and protect the few belongings they still have.
The Gaza Ministry of Health confirmed that at least seven people, including six babies, died from hypothermia over the past week.
UNRWA warned that Gaza's residents are facing a life-threatening combination of harsh weather, insufficient shelter, and a lack of essential winter supplies.
The Ministry of Health also reported that Israel's genocidal campaign in Gaza claimed the lives of at least 45,658 Palestinians and injured 108,583 since October 7, 2023.
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