Heavy weekend rains flooded tens of thousands of tents across the Gaza Strip, killing at least five people when a sandbank collapsed onto makeshift shelters in Deir Al Balah.
Storms Submerge Camps and Destroy Shelters
The storms struck from the evening of November 6 through the weekend, triggering widespread flooding across all five governorates, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Water levels rose to 1.5 metres in some locations, inundating displacement sites and soaking mattresses, blankets, and clothing.
UNICEF reported that heavy rain directly affected 106,000 people, while the United Nations estimated that about 1.4 million people—or 65 percent of Gaza’s population—were living in tents or makeshift shelters when the storms hit. According to OCHA, more than 70,000 tents were flooded over a 12-hour period during the height of the weather event.
Statement by the Board of Peace on Recent Flooding and Urgent Winterization Needs in Gaza pic.twitter.com/lWxKhPxGeH
Shelter cluster estimates said that families still required about 121,000 tents, 561,000 tarpaulins, 57,000 emergency shelter kits, and 1.7 million mattresses. Among those affected, Save the Children estimated that approximately 350,000 people, the majority of them children, were living in tents completely inundated by rain.
Civil defence units received 2,166 distress calls but could respond to only 218, hampered by fuel shortages and equipment damage. Municipal officials said hundreds of vehicles, including bulldozers and water pumps, had been destroyed during the war.
Heavy rains are flooding displacement sites across Gaza. Tents have collapsed, children are wading through contaminated water & families are losing what little they have.@UNmigration is working to help, but needs far exceed available resources. https://t.co/y2zEW1JeRR pic.twitter.com/LfFwUtIdFk
Husni Muhanna, a spokesman for the Gaza City municipality, said that the municipality had lost roughly 85 percent of its fleet of vehicles and heavy equipment after the Israeli military destroyed more than 135 vehicles and mechanisms, leaving workers with only 15 percent of their previous operational capacity. Over 700 kilometres of sewage networks were destroyed, and Gaza City lost approximately 2,800 of its 4,800 stormwater drains.
Deadly Embankment Collapse in Deir Al Balah
The storms turned deadly when a sand dune collapsed onto tents at Al Berka Reservoir, west of Deir Al Balah. Local authorities confirmed that three children and two women died in the collapse, while another person was injured. Gaza’s civil defence service and OCHA confirmed the deaths of five individuals when an embankment collapsed onto tents.
Gaza’s Government Media Office described the sandbank collapse as a humanitarian disaster, holding Israel, the United States administration, and the international community responsible while pointing to the blocking of proper shelters, construction materials, mobile homes, fuel, and spare parts as primary factors.
Suhaib Abu Darabi rushed to the site to help rescue his neighbours.
“I tried to resuscitate a young child who was pulled out from under the rubble, but he had internal bleeding. I tried, but there was no response,” Shaima al-Daour, a displaced woman from northern Gaza who works as a nurse in the Ard al-Ribat camp, said.
“We managed to clear some of the rubble, but we could not save the people trapped underneath. The scale of the collapse was far beyond what the residents here could handle, given the lack of resources,” Suhaib Abu Darabi told Al Jazeera.
“[Ahmed al-Nabhan] and his wife had been very happy after he came out of prison. They were looking forward to having another child in a few months,” said Suhaib Abu Darabi, 32, describing the family killed in the disaster.
Human rights groups also voiced alarm over the wider destruction. Ramy Abdul, chairman of Euro-Med Monitor, stated: “What remains of Gaza’s homes is collapsing under heavy rain, amid the ongoing genocide and deafening silence.” Palestinian Health Minister Dr. Majed Abu Ramadan added: “What is happening in Gaza is not a passing winter crisis.”
Flooding Destroys Shelters as Aid Supplies Run Low
By November 8, humanitarian partners received appeals from over 26,000 households whose shelters or belongings were damaged. According to the Site Management Cluster, more than 6,000 family shelters were destroyed and 17,400 damaged, leaving thousands with no shelter at all. UNRWA reported separately that weekend flooding caused damage to around 40,000 family shelters, affecting an estimated 200,000 people.
Aid agencies warned that supplies inside Gaza are virtually exhausted. More than 150,000 tents purchased by humanitarian partners and member states remain outside Gaza awaiting Israeli approval to enter, including about 117,000 tents from the Egyptian Relief Committee in Al-Arish. Shelterbox, a charity working in crisis zones, reported that emergency tents procured for Gaza have been waiting outside the border for almost two years, forcing organizations to improvise shelters using restricted tarpaulins.
UNRWA winter emergency teams are active across #Gaza, clearing drains, identifying areas at risk of flooding, checking available equipment, and putting preventive measures in place, including sandbags. But many water pumps are out of service due to shortages of engine oil and… pic.twitter.com/40q11iuH3w
Relief operations also saw humanitarian partners distribute 12 tents, 1,864 mats, 474 mattresses, and 1,714 humanitarian-standard tarpaulins across specific locations between November 7 and 8. Winter clothes were distributed to 3,364 households—including 8,432 children—across 19 sites in Khan Younis and Deir Al Balah, alongside blankets handed out to 896 households across six sites in Gaza City and North Gaza.
“Families in Gaza lost the little they had in a single weekend of rain, and there is little left to replace it. They need tents that can withstand heavy rain, and they need them now,” said Bob Kitchen, Vice President for Emergencies at the International Rescue Committee.
For #Palestine Refugee families in Gaza living in worn-out tents, heavy rain brings another threat to their safety. Thousands of families across #Gaza have lost their shelters and belongings during the recent rains. “Palestine Refugee families in Gaza should not have to fear… pic.twitter.com/rW3ZK2RpP0
International Leaders Demand Immediate Humanitarian Action
The humanitarian crisis drew sharp international reactions as leaders and organizations demanded immediate action. On November 9, the 28-country Board of Peace described the situation as an immediate humanitarian emergency, criticizing Israel’s response as insufficient and urging the immediate authorization of winterization supplies, drainage equipment, and temporary shelters.
The Board called on Israeli leadership to fully implement its commitments under the president’s Comprehensive Peace Plan and facilitate the entry of sewage removal and waste management supplies. Nickolay Mladenov, high representative for Gaza under the Board of Peace, had previously warned in September about the grave dangers that another winter would bring.
In Pakistan, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed the foreign ministry to urgently escalate humanitarian assistance to Gaza, condemning violations of the ceasefire. In the United States, House Democrats rallied around the Ceasefire Compliance Act and the Block the Bombs Act to question weapons shipments, while Brian Schatz wrote on X that the Israeli government must allow building materials and winter supplies into Gaza immediately.
Meanwhile, Israeli authorities maintained that a winterization plan had been facilitated in coordination with the Board of Peace, the United Nations, international organizations, and donor countries, while pointing to coordination efforts through COGAT. A diplomatic source said that obtaining approval for minor common-sense shipments, such as four sewage trucks permitted after nearly two years, required massive political lifts from senior Board of Peace officials like Aryeh Lightstone.
COGAT continues to coordinate the entry of essential equipment into the Gaza Strip, ramping up winterization efforts. Last week, under the safety mechanism and in collaboration with the international community: ⛺️Entry of more than 10,000 tents⁰❄️ Entry of more than 360 trucks… pic.twitter.com/GL3aKLpyBh
Deeply concerned about continued Israeli illegal actions to deny basic humanitarian assistance to the brave Palestinian people of Gaza. Heart rending images of tents being flooded and of Gazan children with nowhere to go being trapped and subject to starvation and extreme cold.…