With the first long-delayed winter showers falling on Gaza this week, residents awoke to yet another disaster: rainwater flooding their worn-out tents. Many families woke up soaked, their makeshift shelters collapsing under the storms.
Local reports say hundreds of thousands of civilians across the Gaza Strip have been left without proper shelter, while relief efforts continue to stall as Israel maintains tight restrictions on aid entry in violation of the ceasefire agreement.
According to the Hamas Government Media Office and Hamas officials, Israel is failing to meet its commitments under the ceasefire, particularly the humanitarian protocol that stipulates the entry of food, medical supplies, and relief trucks. Living conditions continue to deteriorate amid the devastation of war and the arrival of the winter storm season.
Humanitarian suffering has deepened across Gaza on Day 36 of the ceasefire, as the territory is hit by its first major weather system of the year. Despite the truce, Israeli violations continue, including scattered airstrikes, shelling, and the demolition of homes in the northern and southern parts of the Strip, particularly in Rafah.
Families are now living in fragile tents that leak from every corner, as floodwater sweeps through their shelters. Hundreds of thousands of civilians remain exposed to the elements, with aid efforts hampered by ongoing blockade measures that contradict the terms of the truce.
One man, shouting in anguish, said that “the water woke us up from our sleep. Why do our children have to suffer like this?”
Heavy rainfall has hit all parts of the Strip. In Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood, some of the most harrowing scenes emerged as the storm flooded tents, food supplies, and the few belongings displaced families still have.
Despite their exhaustion and the bitter cold, residents worked desperately to protect their children and belongings, trying to block the water from pouring into their tents. Young men dug makeshift drainage channels to divert the flooding in an attempt to shield families from the dangers of winter.
Gaza-based journalist Imad Abu Shawish told Al-Ahram Weekly that conditions in the Strip are worsening “day by day,” despite the halt in major military operations. He said a “very large” number of the injured urgently need medical evacuation, especially those with chronic illnesses or severe injuries.
Around 16,500 patients are still waiting for approval to leave Gaza for treatment, including 4,000 children in urgent need of evacuation. Abu Shawish warned that the delays amount to “a death sentence.”
Despite the declared truce, he said that violations continue. Israeli tanks routinely cross from the eastern border and open fire, while naval vessels target the coastline and displacement zones that lack any form of protection.
Abu Shawish said that many tents sheltering displaced families consist only of wooden poles covered with cloth or plastic sheeting and offer almost no real protection, especially with winter setting in.
“These tents are not suitable for Gaza,” he said. “Some are already falling apart. Their lifespan is no more than six months, and with the shelling and rain, they swiftly become unusable.”
“The tents are extremely hot in the summer and freezing in winter,” Abu Shawish said. “Water leaks inside, forcing children and women to endure unbearable conditions.”
About 600,000 displaced people, including children, women, the elderly, and the wounded, are living in tents, Abu Shawish added, many of whom cannot withstand their injuries or the harsh living conditions.
CIVIL DEFENCE: Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for the Palestinian Civil Defence in Gaza, said the service has received “hundreds of distress calls” but lacks the capacity to respond.
“There is no time to waste in distributing tents to the public,” he said. “Every second that passes puts more lives at risk.”
He warned that some residents are fleeing to shelter under damaged and partially collapsed buildings, often structures already weakened by airstrikes and creating a “deadly risk” as rain increases the likelihood of collapse.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said on Sunday that the health situation in the enclave remains “catastrophic” despite the ceasefire agreement, noting that newly established medical points have gone out of service due to heavy rainfall and tents have been collapsing under severe weather conditions.
Ministry Spokesman Khalil Al-Daqran said in a statement that “the health situation in the Gaza Strip remains dire as Israel continues to violate the terms of the ceasefire.”
He added that Israel is still preventing “the entry of medicines and essential medical supplies into the Strip, in addition to barring the evacuation of the wounded and injured for treatment abroad.”
According to the ministry, Israel has blocked 16,500 patients and wounded people from leaving Gaza for treatment, despite having completed all required paperwork and medical referrals.
Al-Daqran said that the medical tents set up to provide basic healthcare have “collapsed or been blown away” by the heavy rains and strong winds brought by the current storm system. He urged the international community to intervene immediately and allow the entry of tents, mobile housing units, and building materials into Gaza.
He did not provide figures on the extent of the damage sustained by medical tents across the Strip, many of which have been flooded or torn apart by the severe weather conditions.
ISRAEL BLOCKING AID: The UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA said the current storm system would worsen the suffering of Gaza’s displaced population.
It reported increased international efforts to pressure Israel to allow humanitarian supplies into Gaza but said that while some trucks had entered through the Zikim Crossing, the amount of aid reaching Gaza “does not meet even the minimum needs” of the population.
It confirmed that displaced families were living in “catastrophic conditions” after their tents were flooded by rain last Friday.
According to UNRWA, more than 282,000 homes in Gaza have been destroyed or damaged during the two years of the Israeli war, leaving hundreds of thousands without shelter. The agency said that overcrowding, lack of privacy, and limited access to basic services continue to plague the makeshift camps.
With winter rainfall now intensifying, UNRWA warned of increasing risks as rainwater mixes with sewage, creating “severe humanitarian and public-health threats” that could trigger infectious disease outbreaks requiring massive interventions.
UNRWA Spokesperson Adnan Abu Hasna said that stringent Israeli restrictions, linked to Israeli regulations, continue to obstruct the entry of humanitarian supplies to the Strip, worsening conditions as rain begins to fall.
He described the public-health situation in Gaza as “catastrophic,” noting that most residents consume contaminated water with nitrate and salinity levels nine times higher than global standards, leading to spikes in cases of hepatitis, meningitis, gastrointestinal diseases, respiratory infections, kidney failure, and cancer.
He warned that further rainfall could worsen the situation as sewage systems have been destroyed during the war.
In an interview with the Palestinian news agency WAFA, Abu Hasna said that hundreds of worn-out tents and temporary shelters have been flooded, leaving thousands exposed to harsh weather.
“Without UNRWA, there will be chaos and a complete humanitarian collapse,” he said.
He added that the current crisis demands intensified international support, highlighting the vital role UNRWA plays across its five fields of operation. With 76 years of experience, the agency provided more than 60 per cent of humanitarian aid during the Gaza war.
In response to the worsening conditions, the Palestinian NGO Network issued an urgent appeal to international humanitarian and human-rights organisations, urging immediate intervention to stop the escalating humanitarian disaster in Gaza.
In a statement sent to the Weekly, the network called for the immediate entry of aid shipments and essential supplies into Gaza without delay and for pressure to be put on Israel to stop “endangering the lives of civilians” and using humanitarian aid as a tool of political coercion while continuing to violate the ceasefire.
The network urged the entry of emergency shelter materials, particularly tents, for vulnerable groups including women, children, the elderly, and displaced families whose tents have been destroyed by heavy winds. Initial assessments, it said, indicate an urgent need for 500,000 tents, with an equal number required in the near future.
It also called for the entry of medical supplies, citing a World Health Organisation (WHO) report noting that over 16,000 patients, including 4,000 children, require immediate evacuation for treatment. More than 900 patients have died due to the lack of access to essential medical care.
Its statement said that “horrifying scenes” of malnourished and shivering children with no access to food, water, or shelter are cause for profound humanitarian alarm.
It said the unprecedented suffering facing Gaza’s population is the result of two years of war and more than 17 years of blockade and demanded that immediate international action be taken to protect civilians and uphold accountability for violations of international law through sanctions being placed on Israel.
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* A version of this article appears in print in the 20 November, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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