JERUSALEM -- The Middle East was hit with its heaviest snow storms in 60 years yesterday, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in Syria and forcing Israel to allow emergency aid into Gaza. The storm, named Alexa, extended from Turkey to Egypt, with parts of Cairo reportedly experiencing their first recorded snowfall for years. Several inches of snow fell in the Sinai Peninsula, usually an arid desert region, while authorities were forced to close the port in the coastal city of Alexandria after a third consecutive day of bad weather and high winds.
In Lebanon's Bekaa Valley relief agencies handed out warm clothing, blankets, bedding, heating equipment in refugee camps as snow fell relentlessly for the second day running. In Syria's contested northern city of Aleppo, soldiers and opposition fighters took a break from fighting as a thick layer of snow blanketed deserted streets. In Gaza, more than 5,000 people have been evacuated from flood-damaged homes and at least one person killed in what the United Nations called "a disaster area". The flooding, caused by four days of torrential rain, was so severe that many homes could only be accessed by rowing boat with water two metres deep in some places.
© Oman Daily Observer 2013
