Social media accounts posted a photo showing flooded tents, claiming that they were tents of displaced people in the Gaza Strip, “Image of flooded displaced persons tents in the Gaza Strip, due to heavy continuous rainfall.”
Kashif verified the image via “Google Images” and found that it is old and was incorrectly linked to the flooding of tents in the Gaza Strip. The image was circulated in July 2024 as part of reports about the flooding of tents in shelters for the displaced in Kassala State, eastern Sudan.
On 26/7/2024, Sudan Today published a report that included the circulated photo, accompanied by the following title: “Rainwater floods tents in displacement centers in Kassala, eastern Sudan.” The report stated that “heavy rains flooded the tents of displaced persons in three shelters in Kassala, eastern Sudan, on Friday, 26/7/2024, in three shelters in Kassala, eastern Sudan, which hosts tens of thousands of people displaced by the war.”
A report published by Sudanese News on 26/7/2024, which included the photo, stated that “the heavy rains that hit the city of Kassala on Friday, 26 July 2024, amounted to 118 mm and caused damage to some homes in several neighborhoods of the city. Poor drainage also caused the suspension of public transportation and cars in most of the streets filled with rainwater.”
The Sudanese Taiba satellite channel also published a group of photos, including the photo circulated on its Instagram on 26/7/2024, accompanied by the following caption: “Circulating photos showing the suffering of the displaced in Kassala after rain fall in the city this morning.”
Kashif’s team contacted Mayor of Gaza, Yahya Al-Sarraj, who denied the claim and confirmed that the photo was not from Gaza.
The Civil Defense in the Gaza Strip announced on 1/1/2025 that rainwater flooded more than 1,500 tents housing displaced persons in the Strip, due to a low pressure system that led to a significant drop in temperatures. It announced that hundreds of tents had been monitored with rainwater levels reaching more than 30 centimeters, which caused many displaced persons to suffer shivering, in addition to damaging their belongings and mattresses.
Sources of Claim | Sources of Verification |
Al-Jarmaq News Al- Fajr TV 24FM Jaljulia Net The Palestinian House in Turkey Abed Elrhman Palestine Post | Sudan Today Sudanese News Taiba Sudanese Satellite Mayor of Gaza Yahya Al-Sarraj Civil Defense in the Gaza Strip |