Tents flooded as heavy rain hits Gaza
GAZA CITY: Heavy rain on Saturday flooded tens of thousands of displaced people’s tents in the war-devastated Gaza, Palestinian authorities said, leaving many of them without shelter.
About “70,000 tents sheltering tens of thousands of displaced people were flooded on the first day” of rains, the Hamas-run government media office stated.
There were also reports of “collapse of dozens of cracked walls and roofs, which caused injuries”, some critical, in various areas of the tiny territory, it added.
Civil defence spokesman Mahmoud Bassal told AFP his teams had received more than 1,500 calls during the night from residents requesting urgent assistance after their tents were flooded, explaining that the agency “is operating without any equipment or capabilities”.
Civil society groups warn of disease outbreaks, urge pressure on Israel to allow entry of aid
“We have issued an urgent distress call to the international community and humanitarian organisations to intervene immediately to save hundreds of thousands of displaced people from the flooding of their tents. We cannot face the consequences of this storm on our own,” he said.
A coalition of Palestinian civil society organisations has warned of “the catastrophe that has come to threaten the lives of hundreds of thousands of residents”, pointing to the risk of the spread of diseases and epidemics.
The coalition, which includes dozens of local institutions and organisations, called for “pressure on Israel to allow the entry of humanitarian aid without restrictions”.
A fragile ceasefire came into effect on Oct 10, 2025, after two years of war. However, despite the ceasefire agreement reached with Egyptian, Qatari, and American mediation, the Israeli army continued air strikes and ground operations on an almost daily basis.
Mustafa Qazzaat, a member of the Gaza city council and an official in the Strip’s emergency committee, said Israel did not allow prefabricated homes to shelter the displaced in Gaza even after the announcement of the so-called truce, and only permitted the entry of limited numbers of tents.
He said Gaza “needs 200,000 prefabricated homes urgently, in addition to the entry of heavy machinery to remove the rubble of destroyed homes and buildings, open main roads, and urgently provide electricity and heating”.
Published in Dawn, November 8th, 2026
