Heavy Winter Rains Flood Gaza Displacement Camps, Leaving Families Exposed

Heavy Winter Rains Flood Gaza Displacement Camps

Heavy winter rains have inundated makeshift tent camps in Gaza City and parts of central and northern Gaza, leaving displaced families with soaked mattresses, clothes and few safe options for shelter. Aid agencies warn that restrictions on aid deliveries, including limits imposed by Israeli authorities, have left hundreds of thousands without adequate protection as cold weather sets in.

Abdulrahman Asaliyah, a displaced resident, told Al Jazeera that "mattresses, clothes and other belongings were soaked" when water pooled in the camps. "We are calling for help, for new tents that can at least protect people from the winter cold," he said, adding that nearly two dozen people had labored for hours to drain the area.

"This winter rain is a blessing from God, but there are families who no longer wish for it to fall, fearing for the lives of their children and their own survival," Asaliyah said.

Gaza's civil defence agency said the flooding mainly affected the north of the Gaza Strip — where hundreds of thousands returned after the October ceasefire — and also hit central Gaza's Deir el-Balah. The rescue agency urged the international community to step up deliveries of homes, caravans and tents to reduce suffering as winter begins.

Although the October 10 ceasefire has allowed more aid into Gaza, the UN and humanitarian organisations say many Palestinians still lack sufficient food, medicine and safe shelter. Shelter-focused aid groups reported in early November that roughly 260,000 Palestinian families — nearly 1.5 million people — remain vulnerable as colder months approach.

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said this week it has shelter supplies that could help up to 1.3 million people, but warned that access restrictions continue to hamper delivery. "We have a very short chance to protect families from the winter rains and cold," Angelita Caredda, Middle East and North Africa director at the Norwegian Refugee Council, said on November 5.

Reporting from Deir el-Balah, Al Jazeera's Hind Khoudary described tents that are "fragile and worn-out" after two years of use and said many families have no option but to remain in overcrowded shelters or in exposed camps. "It only rained for a couple of minutes — 30 minutes or so — and they were completely flooded," she said, noting children walking barefoot and families lacking winter clothes and blankets.

Abu Ghassan, a displaced father in Gaza City, said: "I'm lifting the mattresses so the children don't get soaked. But the little ones were already drenched here. We don't even have proper tents."

Humanitarian agencies continue to call for the swift, unhindered delivery of shelter materials and winter supplies to prevent further deterioration of already dire conditions across the Gaza Strip.

Sources: Reporting by Al Jazeera; statements from Gaza civil defence, UNRWA and the Norwegian Refugee Council.