Gaza shelter crisis worsens after heavy winter rains
More than 288,000 families in Gaza are facing a severe shelter emergency after heavy winter rains submerged tens of thousands of improvised tents, the territory's Government Media Office said. Authorities warned the situation is "the most dangerous humanitarian disaster" since the war began.
The flooding began on Thursday when the first winter storm hit. The United Nations confirmed that more than 13,000 households were affected within hours, and continuing rain overwhelmed fragile tents that have sheltered displaced families for nearly two years.
"We strongly condemn this ongoing crime committed by the [Israeli] occupation against civilians," the Government Media Office said, holding Israel responsible for restricting shelter materials and keeping crossings closed.
Gaza authorities say the enclave needs roughly 300,000 tents and mobile homes to provide basic shelter. UNRWA says supplies staged in Jordan and Egypt are sufficient to fill 6,000 trucks, including food to sustain Gaza's population for three months, but only about half of the 500–600 daily aid trucks required are entering the territory because of restrictions.
According to UN figures, more than 80 percent of buildings across Gaza have been damaged or destroyed, producing mass displacement. Many displacement camps lie in low-lying areas where floodwaters accumulate, leaving people and belongings soaked and shelters unusable.
Philippe Lazzarini, head of UNRWA, described the situation as "misery on top of misery," warning that fragile shelters "quickly flood, soaking people's belongings."
Rights experts and some UN officials have warned that the blockade and military campaign have deepened civilian suffering and could breach international obligations; the UN lists actions that "deliberately inflict on [a] group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part" among those that can constitute genocide.
COGAT, the Israeli agency that coordinates aid deliveries, has repeatedly denied restricting humanitarian supplies. Aid groups and UN officials continue to call for immediate, unimpeded entry of tents, tarps, mobile homes and other relief items to prevent further suffering as winter worsens.
Human toll: Gaza's Ministry of Health reported at least 266 people killed since the ceasefire took effect on October 10, with strikes reported in some areas where forces were expected to withdraw.
Urgent needs: rapid delivery and distribution of shelter materials, functioning border crossings, and coordinated humanitarian access to protect hundreds of thousands of displaced people from exposure, disease and further displacement.
