Heavy rains and strong winds have destroyed or damaged thousands of tents and makeshift shelters across the Gaza Strip, leaving tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians exposed to harsh weather amid Israel’s continued siege and restrictions on humanitarian aid, Palestinian authorities said.
The Gaza Civil Defence reported receiving at least 1,500 emergency calls as flooding swept through displacement camps, destroying shelters and worsening the already catastrophic humanitarian conditions imposed by Israel’s genocidal war and ongoing blockade.
Reporting from Gaza City in northern Gaza on Sunday, Al Jazeera’s Ibrahim al-Khalili said the makeshift tents in which Palestinians have been forced to live offer little protection against severe weather.
“The latest storm exposed just how fragile the protection is. In just a few hours, heavy rains and strong winds tore through shelters families had spent days trying to reinforce,” al-Khalili said.
He described seeing soaked mattresses, pillows and clothes, reporting that nearly 400,000 displaced Palestinians are living in locations considered “highly vulnerable” to further flooding.
According to the Government Media Office, heavy rain and strong winds have battered Gaza since late Friday, flooding 70,000 tents and bringing down dozens of walls.
The latest disaster has further exposed the consequences of Israel’s devastating military campaign and its continued restrictions on essential humanitarian supplies, leaving displaced Palestinians without adequate shelter, food and basic necessities.
Meanwhile, reporting from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, Al Jazeera’s Ashraf Abu Amra said families whose shelters had been flooded had received no food assistance since early Saturday.
Jonathan Veitch, UNICEF special representative in Palestine, said the majority of Palestinians were living in “terrible conditions” and called for increased funding to provide urgently needed humanitarian assistance.
The Government Media Office estimated the damage caused by the storm at $3 million, while relief organizations have struggled for years to deliver sufficient assistance to the besieged territory.
The Gaza Civil Defence warned that more than 2,000 buildings are at risk of collapse, adding that at least 300,000 tents are needed to provide adequate shelter for displaced Palestinians affected by the severe weather.
The flooding has compounded the devastation caused by Israel’s genocidal war, which began on October 7, 2023, destroying homes and critical infrastructure across Gaza.
Israel’s continued restrictions on humanitarian aid, shelter supplies and reconstruction materials have further obstructed relief operations and left hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians struggling to survive in damaged tents and makeshift shelters.
More than 74,640 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its genocidal war on October 7, 2023.
Since a so-called “ceasefire” took effect in October 2025, Israeli forces have killed at least 1,610 Palestinians.