Rains flood 70,000 displaced families’ tents in Gaza

The Gaza Strip was hit by its first winter storm of the season, resulting in about 70,000 tents sheltering displaced Palestinians being flooded within 12 hours, according to Gaza’s Government Media Office. Initial losses were estimated at roughly $3 million. Dozens of walls collapsed and people were injured, with cracked buildings at risk of collapse posing a growing danger.

Israel was held "fully responsible" for the disaster, blamed on the continued closure of crossings and blocking of shelter and reconstruction materials. Gaza’s civil defence agency reported receiving over 1,500 distress calls in just 10 hours after the rain began, with water levels rising by 30-40cm in several shelter sites. Civil defence spokesman Mahmoud Basal warned that premature babies, the elderly, and the sick were most at risk.

The storm also exacerbated damage from Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza since October 2023, with rescuers evacuating residents from a partially collapsed building in the central Nuseirat area and a separate building in northern Gaza. Footage from various camps showed families wading through ankle-deep water, soaked mattresses and blankets, and children standing in pools of mud and sewage.

Over 28,000 widows were among those facing the winter alone with their children. Over one million displaced people in Gaza are at risk of a harsh winter, and the territory urgently needs around 200,000 tents along with heating supplies, according to Gaza’s emergency committee. Aid groups attribute the lack of shelter materials to Israeli restrictions on entry.

The storm also affected Gaza’s strained health system, with al-Shifa Medical Complex’s emergency department flooding and being out of service for about four hours.