Children among the dead as heavy rains flood tents and shelters in Gaza Palestine

UN News Two children stand in a rain-soaked tent in Deir al-Balah, Gaza.

9 November 2026  

Humanitarian Aid

An infant reportedly drowned and five Gazans were killed – including three children – when a sand dune collapsed on their tents as the first heavy rains swept across the enclave at the weekend, according to the UN aid coordination office (OCHA).

Thousands of families lost their shelters and belongings as rain and strong winds began lashing Gaza on Friday night, flooding displacement sites, collapsing damaged buildings and disrupting services across all five governorates, OCHA said in an update released on Monday.

The dune collapsed onto tents at Al Berka Reservoir, west of Deir Al Balah, killing three children and two women and injuring one other person, according to local authorities.

Speaking from Ramallah, UN Deputy Special Coordinator Ramiz Alakbarov said that while rain could not be prevented, more must be done to protect the vulnerable, noting that most Gazans are living in worn-out tents that cannot withstand what would be considered a moderate storm elsewhere.

Some 65 per cent of Gaza’s population, about 1.4 million people, live in tents or makeshift shelters.

Shelters destroyed

By 8 November, humanitarian partners had received appeals for aid from more than 26,000 households whose shelters or belongings were damaged. More than 6,000 family shelters were reportedly destroyed and 17,400 damaged, and more than 3,900 households currently have no shelter at all. 

Partners have so far assessed the needs of 1,877 households and supported 422 households at 29 displacement sites.

Water levels rose to 1.5 metres in some locations, and civil defence units received 2,166 distress calls but could respond to only 218.

At least 55 learning spaces serving some 55,000 children were also flooded. Health facilities were also damaged forcing some medical teams to suspend services. Mine action partners warned that floodwaters could expose or displace explosive ordnance.

UN aid recovery effort

The UN and its partners are pumping out water, improving drainage, reinforcing sites with sandbags, repairing shelters and delivering emergency supplies. But humanitarian stocks of tents, tarpaulins, blankets and clothes inside Gaza are virtually exhausted.

Residents of one tent camp in Deir Al Balah said overflowing sewage had surged in with the floodwater, soaking mattresses, clothing and other belongings.

More than 150,000 tents purchased by humanitarian partners and Member States are outside Gaza ready to be dispatched, including about 117,000 from the Egyptian Relief Committee in Al-Arish.

Mr. Alakbarov called for the urgent lifting of all unnecessary restrictions and delays, including those preventing aid organizations from bringing in enough vacuum trucks, dewatering pumps, heavy machinery, engine oil, spare parts, tents, tarpaulins, plastic sheeting, blankets and winter clothing. 

In response to a journalist’s question, UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq told Monday’s daily news briefing that Israeli efforts to facilitate rebuilding in Gaza had been insufficient.

“We certainly can be getting more in. We just need the permissions from the Israeli authorities to get them in through the various checkpoints.”

Meanwhile, strikes continue to hit populated areas. On Saturday, UN personnel visiting a displacement site in Gaza City had to take cover when gunfire erupted nearby... READ MORE https://news.un.org/en/story/2026/11/1168766

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We now see the ugly face of Gaza’s ‘new normal’. Israel’s genocidal campaign has left behind a reality that our starved bodies cannot survive.

By Eman Abu Zayed

Palestinian writer from Gaza.

Published On 14 Dec 202514 Dec 2025

A girl stands in a pool of water at a makeshift camp sheltering displaced Palestinians after heavy rains in the Zeitoun neighbourhood of Gaza City on December 11, 2025 [AFP]

Winter came to Gaza last month with a violent storm. I woke up at night to a disaster. Our tent was flooded with water which had transformed our “floor” into a shallow pool. The mattresses and pillows were completely soaked, cooking pots were submerged, the clothes were drenched, and even our bags— which function as our “closets”—were filled with water. Nothing inside remained dry.

As I tried to understand what was happening, I suddenly heard children crying at the entrance of our tent. I opened it quickly and found three children from the neighbouring tents, their lips blue from the cold, with their mother trembling behind them saying, “We are completely soaked… the rain leaked inside and the water reached everywhere.”

The same tragic scene was repeated all around us: women, children, and elderly people sitting in the street under the rain, their bedding drenched and their belongings scattered, while confusion and cries filled the air.

All 1.4 million displaced Palestinians who lack proper shelter suffered that day—people with no protection against the weather or its sudden storms.

For us, it took two full days for our belongings to dry because the sun barely appeared; everything stayed cold and damp. We didn’t move to another place—we stayed where we were, trying to salvage whatever we could, because there was simply nowhere else to go.

Only a week later, an even stronger winter storm arrived with severe rainfall. Tents were flooded again; little children froze in the rain again.

This week, when Storm Byron hit, we were flooded once again. Despite all our efforts to reinforce the tents, secure them tightly, and bring in stronger tarps, nothing worked. The winds were fiercer, the rain heavier, and the water pushed its way inside from every direction. The ground no longer absorbed anything. The water began rising rapidly beneath our feet, turning the entire area into a swamp.

According to the authorities, the strong winds destroyed at least 27,000 tents. These are 27,000 families who already struggled and now have nothing, no shelter, nowhere to hide from the rain and cold.

The rain also brought down damaged homes where people had been sheltering. Every time there is a storm or strong wind, we hear the sound of falling debris and concrete pillars from badly damaged buildings near us. This time, the situation was so bad that 11 people were killed by collapsed buildings.

It is clear that after everything we have endured, we – like other displaced Palestinians – cannot survive a third winter in these harsh conditions. We survived two winters in displacement, living in tents that protected neither from cold nor rain, waiting with exhausted patience for a ceasefire that would end our suffering. The ceasefire finally came, but relief did not. We remain in the same place, with bodies drained by malnutrition and illness, under tents worn out by the sun and wind.

We are a family of... READ MORE    https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2025/12/14/we-now-see-the-ugly-face-of-gazas-new-normal 

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Israel is BLOCKING over 6,500 trucks with essential winter aid from entering Gaza... children are going barefoot and wearing summer clothes in the freezing cold. ... World leaders and the international community continue to look away and abandon the people of Gaza. - B'Tselem בצלם بتسيلم

 B'Tselem בצלם بتسيلم

@btselem

·

Dec 11

Storm Byron is hitting the Gaza Strip. Hundreds of thousands of people displaced by Israeli genocidal attack are huddling in makeshift tents, many flooded due to the mass bombing of sewage and drainage systems. 

 

Two years of genocide have left this vulnerable population exposed to the worst of winter and the spread of disease, with literally nowhere dry to shelter. 

 

Yet two months into the so-called “ceasefire,” Israel is still blocking aid. 

 

More than 6,500 trucks are currently waiting to be let into Gaza with essential winter supplies including tents, blankets, warm clothing and hygiene materials. 

 

Meanwhile, children are going barefoot and wearing summer clothes in the freezing cold. 

 

World leaders and the international community continue to look away and abandon the people of Gaza.

 https://x.com/btselem/status/1999084005895848136

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‘We’re drowning’: Gaza baby dies as storm floods tent encampments Rainwater and sewage flood streets and tents in Gaza as storm brings heavy downpours expected through Friday

By Maha Hussaini and Mohammed al-Hajjar in Gaza City, occupied Palestine

Published date: 11 December 2025

A boy looks out from a tent at a camp sheltering displaced Palestinians, after heavy rains in Gaza City on 11 December 2025 (AFP/Omar al-Qattaa)

A Palestinian infant died from the cold on Thursday as heavy rain across the Gaza Strip continued for a second day, flooding tented encampments and roads.

Eight-month-old Rahaf Abu Jazar died in Khan Younis after rainwater leaked into her family’s tent during overnight storms. 

Her family was among hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians awoken in the night as torrential downpours inundated the makeshift shelters they rely on for protection.

Gaza’s war-damaged sewage system also overflowed under the heavy rain.

“We are drowning in rainwater mixed with sewage,” said Amal Eleiwa from Gaza City.

Originally from the Shujaiya neighbourhood, Amal's home was destroyed in the war, forcing her to flee from shelter to shelter at least 10 times.

“Water comes in from both above and below. Our blankets are soaked – so are our children,” she said. 

With their home destroyed, the family of 10, including seven children, was living in a single tent. 

“We have nowhere else to go.”

The heavy rain also caused at least three buildings to collapse, according to local media.

Moamen Riyadji rented a damaged house just before the storm, after warnings that it could be catastrophic for displaced people in tents.

He tried to cover the partly open roof, damaged in Israeli strikes, but flooding still reached more than 15 centimetres.

“Last night was some of the worst we have experienced. We couldn’t even sleep,” he told Middle East Eye. 

“God knows what will happen to us. But if things stay like this, I may have to find another place – maybe a tent would be safer.”

Storm Byron has hit Palestine and Israel earlier this week and is expected to last until Friday, with the heaviest downpours still to come.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) warned on Wednesday that low temperatures and heavy rains place vulnerable populations at extreme risk, particularly newborns.

In a post on X on Thursday, the UN Relief and Works Agency (Unrwa) said winter rains are "bringing new hardships" across the besieged enclave. 

“Flooded streets and soaked tents are making already dire living conditions even more dangerous,” it said. "Cold, overcrowded and unsanitary environments heighten the risk of illness and infection."

Worn-out tents 

An estimated 1.5 million people live in worn-out tents across the Gaza Strip, displaced after nearly 80 percent of structures were destroyed by Israel in two years of genocidal war.

Last month, heavy rains destroyed around 13,000 tents....  READ MORE   https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/palestinian-baby-dies-storm-floods-tent-encampments-gaza

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"Gaza is currently facing a humanitarian catastrophe as a result of Israel's destruction of more than 90% of homes while the Strip is facing a storm with rain and winds exceeding 100 km/h, which will sweep away and completely flood hundreds of thousands of dilapidated tents, threatening the lives of people, especially children, who will be left exposed to the bitter cold and disease." Dr. Mustafa Barghouti

 Mustafa Barghouti @Mustafa_Barghouti

@MustafaBarghou1

·

Dec 10

 

Dr. Mustafa Bargouti, leader of the Palestinian National Initiative, called on the international community to exert immediate and effective pressure on Israel to allow the entry of tents, prefabricated homes, fuel, humanitarian aid, and medical equipment into the Gaza Strip. 

 

He stated that Gaza is currently facing a humanitarian catastrophe as a result of Israel's destruction of more than 90% of homes while the Strip is facing a storm with rain and winds exceeding 100 km/h, which will sweep away and completely flood hundreds of thousands of dilapidated tents, threatening the lives of people, especially children, who will be left exposed to the bitter cold and disease. 

 

Barghouti condemned the audacity of some Israeli media outlets that are spewing hatred and wishing destruction upon the Palestinians as they face the storm battering the Gaza Strip. 

 

He questioned the extent of the suffering that Palestinians in the Gaza Strip must endure as a result of the Israeli war of genocide and the inaction of many international parties in confronting it.

 https://x.com/MustafaBarghou1/status/1998736261599641715

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"Since the “ceasefire” in the Gaza Strip took effect on 10 October 2025, Israel has killed at least 345 Palestinians there, including at least 119 children, and wounded about 889. The World Food Programme (WFP) reported this past week that it managed to bring into the Strip only about two-thirds of its planned aid and could provide food to just 500,000 people – roughly 30% of its target. The main obstacles are Israel’s draconian bureaucratic restrictions on aid organizations and its ongoing refusal to open the crossings. According to reports, during the 45 days since the “ceasefire” was declared, Israel has demolished roughly 1,500 structures across the Strip, in violation of the agreement. With the sewage system in ruins and heavy rain in mid-November, many IDP tent camps have flooded. Most people in Gaza are homeless, hungry and lacking access to basic services, yet world leaders are standing by, issuing empty statements and enabling the normalization of this unbearable reality. The international community must act now to ensure protection for Palestinians, the immediate entry of humanitarian aid, and accountability for those responsible for the genocide." B'Tselem בצלם بتسيلم

B'Tselem בצלם بتسيلم

 

@btselem

 

Since the “ceasefire” in the Gaza Strip took effect on 10 October 2025, Israel has killed at least 345 Palestinians there, including at least 119 children, and wounded about 889. 

 

The World Food Programme (WFP) reported this past week that it managed to bring into the Strip only about two-thirds of its planned aid and could provide food to just 500,000 people – roughly 30% of its target. 

 

The main obstacles are Israel’s draconian bureaucratic restrictions on aid organizations and its ongoing refusal to open the crossings. 

 

According to reports, during the 45 days since the “ceasefire” was declared, Israel has demolished roughly 1,500 structures across the Strip, in violation of the agreement. 

 

With the sewage system in ruins and heavy rain in mid-November, many IDP tent camps have flooded. 

 

Most people in Gaza are homeless, hungry and lacking access to basic services, yet world leaders are standing by, issuing empty statements and enabling the normalization of this unbearable reality. 

 

The international community must act now to ensure protection for Palestinians, the immediate entry of humanitarian aid, and accountability for those responsible for the genocide.

 https://x.com/btselem/status/1993350142963921073

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"Over 35,000 tents were flooded with heavy rainwater. Over 288,000 families sleeping in torn tents. ~1.2m people are homeless. Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part, is an act of genocide." Mohamad Safa

Mohamad Safa

@mhdksafa

 

Executive Director. Diplomat rel.  @PVAenglish main representative at United Nations ECOSOC and accredited at United Nations Geneva Office.

Over 35,000 tents were flooded with heavy rainwater. 

Over 288,000 families sleeping in torn tents. ~1.2m people are homeless. 

Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part, is an act of genocide.  

 https://x.com/mhdksafa/status/1993607538365837541/photo/1

 

 Mohamad Safa

@mhdksafa

The Israeli genocide has NOT ended. 

 

Children face high levels of malnutrition and starvation. 

 

Sufficient food is not allowed to enter. Israel continues its killing, starvation and destruction. 

 

Israel is trying to fool the world with a fake ceasefire.  

 

https://x.com/mhdksafa/status/1993313701722833300/photo/1 

 

 

Mohamad Safa

 

@mhdksafa

 

When the UN tried to pass a resolution against torture, three countries voted against it:  The United States, Israel and Argentina. 

 

https://x.com/mhdksafa/status/1993375598719217874/photo/1 

 

 

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