In the focus of today's newspapers is the storm Alexa which continues to bring distress to the Middle East.
"Snowstorm brings havoc and hardship across Middle East" is an article published today by the Guardian.
"In Jerusalem, meteorologists said the worst storm to hit the city for 60 years had left snow up to 50cm deep in some areas. Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv was briefly closed on Friday morning, and major roads were littered with abandoned cars. Motorists were stranded in their vehicles for up to 12 hours as snow blocked highways," the article reads.
"Nir Barkat, the mayor of Jerusalem, described the snowstorm as a "tsunami", for which the city council was unprepared."
"Residents of Ramallah, in the West Bank, awoke to blizzard conditions and widespread power cuts. Other areas of the West Bank, including the Palestinian cities of Hebron and Bethlehem, were struggling to cope with heavy snowfalls. Gaza, whose residents have been forced to deal with 12- to 16-hour power cuts as a result of the severe fuel shortage in the tiny coastal strip, has been affected by heavy flooding as well as the first snowfall in a decade. Dozens of people have been injured. The Israeli military opened a crossing to allow deliveries of gas for heating and other humanitarian supplies into the blockaded Gaza strip. Four water pumps were due to be delivered to help with widespread flooding."
"Storm brings unusually heavy snow to parts of Middle East" is another article on the subject published today. It appeared in the Los Angeles Times.
"As the cold weather system descended on the region late Tuesday, the United Nations refugee agency expressed concern for people displaced by the brutal war in Syria, many of whom live in tents and other flimsy accommodation. High winds, heavy rain and snow were forecast for days in parts of Lebanon, Turkey and Syria, causing "immense additional hardship and suffering," the agency said in a statement Thursday," the article reads.
