In brief
Heavy rains on November 7 caused thousands of tents in Gaza to flood, forcing more than a million displaced families into the cold and into physical danger. Gaza’s Civil Defence received 1,500 distress calls in 10 hours, while aid groups warned that Israeli restrictions were limiting essential supplies. The tragedy highlighted the urgent need for additional tents and heating equipment and exposed the vulnerability of civilians living in temporary shelters.
On the morning of November 7, a severe weather system swept across the Gaza Strip, turning emergency tents into flooded, precarious shelters and forcing thousands of displaced families into the cold and into danger. Gaza’s Civil Defence agency reported that its crews received about 1,500 distress calls in just ten hours, as water levels in several shelter sites rose 30‑40 centimetres.
Massive Flooding of Temporary Shelters
In camps across Gaza City, Khan Younis, and Deir el‑Balah, footage showed families wading through ankle‑deep water, mattresses and blankets soaked, and children standing barefoot in pools of mud and sewage. Two buildings in the central Nuseirat area partially collapsed under the force of the rainfall, while a wall in northern Gaza collapsed, injuring two people.
What we feared has actually happened,
Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for Gaza’s Civil Defence told Al Jazeera, describing how a few shelter centres had been completely flooded. He warned that premature babies, the elderly and the sick were at greatest risk, noting that “those living in tents are at risk of death at any moment, and of illness at any moment.”
The storm unfolded in the first winter storm of the season, a time when many displaced people are already battling cold and lack of heating. The National Emergency Committee of Gaza said that more than one million displaced people face the dangers of winter, with an urgent need for 200,000 tents and heating supplies.
According to a separate report by the Wafa news agency, more than 900,000 displaced people were sheltering in the coastal areas of southern Gaza when the rain began at 10 pm the previous evening. The report said that over 125,000 families living along the coast risked their tents being swept away by the sea.
People woke up to find hundreds, even thousands, of tents flooded across the Gaza Strip,
Rami Abu Taima, Al Jazeera journalist reporting from Khan Younis added, describing the scale of the crisis as the water rose and families were forced out into the cold.
Aryton of Infrastructure and Aid Disruption
The torrential rain also brought down buildings that had been damaged during the conflict that erupted in October 2023. In situations where roofs and walls had already been weakened, the intense winds and precipitation caused collapses that further endangered residents seeking refuge.
At the same time, aid organisations warned that Israeli restrictions were limiting the delivery of essential supplies, preventing the rapid replenishment of water, food and medical provisions. The constraints, imposed in a broader security context, have heightened critical vulnerabilities for people already living in makeshift shelters.
Displaced Populations: Widows, Mothers and the Vulnerable
Al Jazeera’s footage from al‑Mawasi described the plight of over 28,000 widows who face the winter alone with their children. These families were unable to secure stable shelter or adequate heating, increasing the risk of hypothermia and disease.
An estimated 270,000 tents were said to shelter displaced families across the Gaza Strip, with more than 400,000 people living in highly vulnerable locations, according to the Wafa news agency. The sheer scale of the displacement—exceeding a million people—underscores the severity of the humanitarian crisis.
Examples of individual risk were highlighted when a roof collapsed at a building in the central Nuseirat area, forcing demonstrably those living inside to be evacuated by rescuers. The collapse of other structures in neighboring communities, such as a building’s wall in northern Gaza, resulted in injuries.
Emergency Response and Institutional Gaps
Civil Defence crews were on the ground only after they were notified of the severe flooding. Raed al‑Dahshan, director of civil defence in the Gaza governorate, noted that crews could do little once they reached flooded families: the infrastructure had largely failed, and the priority became shelter and immediate medical help.
The community’s reliance on government and voluntary aid was highlighted by the fact that more than 200,000 tents were needed to curb the humanitarian crisis. This shortfall reflects limitations within both the local civil defence system and the broader war-related supply chain disruptions.
Humanitarian Gap: Cold, Water, and Health Threats
Even houses can't hold up against this rain, so how can open plastic sheeting,
Nour Khaled, Al Jazeera reporter in Gaza City argued, questioning the adequacy of improvised shelter structures given the increasing severity of weather events in an area already wrought by conflict.
The surge in rainfall illustrates a compounded risk: the combination of a deteriorated built environment, weak supply chains, and high numbers of people who lack secure housing exposes a large portion of Gaza’s population to life‑threatening conditions. The risk for children, the elderly, and sick individuals is amplified, as the cascade of infrastructure failure tempers medical readiness.
This situation demands immediate medical, engineering, and logistical action. Stakeholders—governmental bodies, international aid agencies, and civil society—must coordinate to supply tents, heating, and medical supplies, while also reviewing building codes for temporary shelters to withstand harsh weather.
Given the stark reality on the ground and the legal constraints imposed by ongoing security measures, the international community’s attention and support are urgently required to address the humanitarian crisis and restore a dignified standard of living for hundreds of thousands of displaced families in Gaza.
