Fierce storm hits Middle Eastern countries

A Palestinian official says the fiercest storm to hit the area in a decade has claimed the lives of two West Bank women who drowned after their car was caught in a flash flood unleashed by torrential rains. The women abandoned their vehicle after it got stuck on a flooded road Tuesday. Their bodies, apparently swept away by surging waters, were found Wednesday, and the car's driver was hospitalized in critical condition.

In Ramallah, snow began to fall during the early morning hours and the storm is expected to reach Jerusalem at noon and will last until Thursday.In this context, an Israeli Army's spokeswoman said that troops helped evacuate a bus that was carrying 30 Palestinian children.

This as, the Israeli military sent helicopters and rubber dinghies to Hever town northern Tel Aviv to rescue stranded residents who headed to the rooftops after a nearby river flooded.

In Jordan, the Jordanian Public Security Directorate asked the citizens to only leave their homes in case of emergency due to bad weather conditions.

In Egypt, Egyptian authorities have closed down several ports due to torrential rains, strong winds and low visibility that also disrupted Suez Canal operations over the past three days.

Egypt's official MENA news agency says Wednesday that ports of the northern Mediterranean city of Alexandria and Dakhila were shut down starting Sunday, while Nile Delta cities suffered power outages and fishing stopped in cities like Damietta, northeast of Cairo.

It says the number of ships crossing the Suez Canal decreased by half due to poor visibility.

In Turkey, the snowstorm led to the closure of the Bosphorus Strait and cancelling flights due to poor visibility.

Snow covered the streets in Istanbul and various other cities.

LBCI/AP