Desperate search to rescue Gaza boy from floods ends in tragedy

Atta Mamoun, 7, is latest child to die in winter storms

A Palestinian child drowned after falling into a water-filled ditch as winter storms battered the Gaza Strip.

Atta Mamoun, 7, from Beit Lahia, fell into a crevice created by heavy rainfall on Saturday.

Footage showed civil defence crews' desperate attempts to pull him from the water, using just basic tools. His body was recovered after six hours of searching in difficult conditions.

Gaza has suffered a wet and stormy winter, with a polar low-pressure system bringing heavy rain as the latest in a series of storms to hit the Eastern Mediterranean this weekend.

Israel's two-year war on Gaza has shattered infrastructure. At least 14 Palestinians have been killed and dozens more injured as buildings collapsed. This month, a 16-week-old baby died from exposure to cold and wet conditions.

While a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas brokered in October continues to hold, children in Gaza are still facing extreme hardship.

About two million people have been displaced in Gaza over the course of the conflict, and with buildings and homes either destroyed or severely weakened in the war, many are living in makeshift shelters.