A state of emergency was declared in north Gaza neighborhoods on Monday after a nearby Israeli reservoir collapsed and flooded the area, said reports.
The flood left six Palestinians injured, killed livestock and damaged property, Palestinian sources told AFP.
The reservoir containing irrigation water broke open in Nahal Oz, a kibbutz near the Karni border crossing into the central Gaza Strip, and flooded an eight-kilometer (five mile) stretch of land to a depth of up to one meter (three feet).
Some 4.5 million cubic meters (157 million cubic feet) of water inundated the area Palestinian civil defense chief Mahmud Abu Marzuk said, estimating the cost of damage in "millions of dollars."
Marzuk added that the Israeli authorities had alerted him to the impending collapse of the dam and called the accident "unintentional."
Six Palestinians suffered multiple fractures in the flooding, Palestinian medical sources, while Marzuk said more than 20 farms were hit, losing some 500 sheep and 10,000 chickens.
Marzuk called the incident unprecedented, and said he feared a natural disaster in the area, said AFP – Albawaba.com
