Heavy Storms Leave Thousands of Displaced Gaza Families Without Shelter
(MENAFN) Tens of thousands of tents across the Gaza Strip have been flooded by heavy rainfall and strong winds, leaving displaced Palestinian families without adequate shelter as damaged infrastructure and shortages of equipment hamper emergency response efforts.
The storm, which started late Friday, also caused dozens of walls to collapse, according to the Government Media Office, which placed the initial estimated damage at approximately $3 million.
Medical sources reported that five Palestinians were injured after two walls of buildings previously damaged by Israeli strikes collapsed, while a metal sheet was also blown down during the storm.
Gaza Municipality spokesman Hosni Muhanna said families whose tents were damaged had nowhere else to seek refuge.
Around 1 million residents and displaced people are concentrated in approximately 30% of Gaza City’s territory, adding further pressure to infrastructure already devastated by Israel’s war on the enclave, he said.
Muhanna reported that Gaza City recorded 60 millimeters of rain within 12 hours, equivalent to roughly 15% of its annual rainfall. Powerful winds carried away some tents and damaged others, while rainwater inundated temporary shelters.
Municipal teams received 250 reports involving flooded roads, soil erosion and blocked drainage systems. Crews addressed most of the incidents despite having only limited resources, he added.
He also warned that 270 displacement camps and shelter locations across Gaza City faced flooding risks. War-related damage has reduced the drainage network's operating capacity to just 20%, leaving neighborhoods in low-lying areas especially exposed.
Muhanna called for the full reopening of border crossings to allow winter supplies, humanitarian assistance and heavy machinery to enter Gaza.
Abdullah al-Majdalawi, head of public relations at Gaza’s Civil Defense, said emergency teams had received hundreds of distress calls since the storm began.
Most reports concerned flooded tents and camps, as well as buildings and walls threatening to collapse onto shelters housing displaced families. He explained that rescuers could address urgent threats to people's lives but lacked the means to provide replacement accommodation.
“We go to people and find an entire camp flooded, with its tents, people, furniture and bedding,” said al-Majdalawi. “We stand helpless before this tragic and difficult reality in Gaza.”
He added that thousands of tents had either been inundated or damaged, leaving families exposed to the elements. He blamed the absence of safer housing alternatives on Israel’s blockade and restrictions on bringing mobile homes and reconstruction supplies into the territory.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said Thursday that approximately 1.98 million people, representing around 94% of Gaza’s population, required shelter and other essential assistance, based on surveys carried out in June. It reported that 58% of the population faced critical or catastrophic shelter shortages.
In October, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warned that approximately 950,000 Palestinians were living in displacement locations exposed to moderate or severe flooding risks, including more than 400,000 in areas classified as high risk.
Israel’s war on Gaza, which began in October 2023, has devastated residential buildings and essential infrastructure across the territory. More than a year after the ceasefire that took effect in October 2025, the need for shelter and reconstruction continues to exceed available humanitarian assistance, as Israeli restrictions persist on materials required for temporary housing and home repairs.
The storm, which started late Friday, also caused dozens of walls to collapse, according to the Government Media Office, which placed the initial estimated damage at approximately $3 million.
Medical sources reported that five Palestinians were injured after two walls of buildings previously damaged by Israeli strikes collapsed, while a metal sheet was also blown down during the storm.
Gaza Municipality spokesman Hosni Muhanna said families whose tents were damaged had nowhere else to seek refuge.
Around 1 million residents and displaced people are concentrated in approximately 30% of Gaza City’s territory, adding further pressure to infrastructure already devastated by Israel’s war on the enclave, he said.
Muhanna reported that Gaza City recorded 60 millimeters of rain within 12 hours, equivalent to roughly 15% of its annual rainfall. Powerful winds carried away some tents and damaged others, while rainwater inundated temporary shelters.
Municipal teams received 250 reports involving flooded roads, soil erosion and blocked drainage systems. Crews addressed most of the incidents despite having only limited resources, he added.
He also warned that 270 displacement camps and shelter locations across Gaza City faced flooding risks. War-related damage has reduced the drainage network's operating capacity to just 20%, leaving neighborhoods in low-lying areas especially exposed.
Muhanna called for the full reopening of border crossings to allow winter supplies, humanitarian assistance and heavy machinery to enter Gaza.
Abdullah al-Majdalawi, head of public relations at Gaza’s Civil Defense, said emergency teams had received hundreds of distress calls since the storm began.
Most reports concerned flooded tents and camps, as well as buildings and walls threatening to collapse onto shelters housing displaced families. He explained that rescuers could address urgent threats to people's lives but lacked the means to provide replacement accommodation.
“We go to people and find an entire camp flooded, with its tents, people, furniture and bedding,” said al-Majdalawi. “We stand helpless before this tragic and difficult reality in Gaza.”
He added that thousands of tents had either been inundated or damaged, leaving families exposed to the elements. He blamed the absence of safer housing alternatives on Israel’s blockade and restrictions on bringing mobile homes and reconstruction supplies into the territory.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said Thursday that approximately 1.98 million people, representing around 94% of Gaza’s population, required shelter and other essential assistance, based on surveys carried out in June. It reported that 58% of the population faced critical or catastrophic shelter shortages.
In October, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warned that approximately 950,000 Palestinians were living in displacement locations exposed to moderate or severe flooding risks, including more than 400,000 in areas classified as high risk.
Israel’s war on Gaza, which began in October 2023, has devastated residential buildings and essential infrastructure across the territory. More than a year after the ceasefire that took effect in October 2025, the need for shelter and reconstruction continues to exceed available humanitarian assistance, as Israeli restrictions persist on materials required for temporary housing and home repairs.
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