Rainwater seeped into displaced Palestinians’ tents across various parts of the Gaza Strip before midnight, soaking children’s mattresses and blankets, while strong winds tore sections off some shelters. Within hours, entire families found themselves battling the cold and floodwater, unable to protect their children or save what remained of their belongings.
With the first heavy rainfall of the season, fears have returned among displaced families of facing another winter in tents that offer inadequate protection from strong winds and flooding. Large numbers of families still lack suitable shelter after losing their homes during the war.
A Night of Flooded Tents
In a tent west of Gaza City, 31-year-old Rana Hmeed found herself facing an overwhelming ordeal. Rainwater flooded her shelter, soaking her children’s blankets and clothes. She struggled to keep them warm with the few remaining dry covers, including her two-month-old baby.
Rana told Sky News Arabia that water began flowing into the tent around midnight, soaking the mattresses, blankets, and clothes. She no longer knew what to do: should she focus on removing the water or hold her children close to protect them from the cold?
Describing her infant daughter’s condition, she said: “My little girl started convulsing from the cold. I wrapped her in blankets, but it was no use. Everything had become soaked.”
With her children’s clothes drenched, Rana had nothing dry to change them into, so she turned to her neighbors to borrow clothing. The family’s circumstances are made even more difficult by the tent’s proximity to the seashore, where winds are stronger, leaving her afraid that the shelter could be blown away at any moment.
Nearby, 35-year-old Adam Hmeed and his family of five endured a similar night after their tent failed to withstand the continuous rainfall. Water flooded the floor, and the blankets were no longer enough to keep his children warm.
Adam told Sky News Arabia that the rain began around midnight and that the tent could no longer withstand its intensity. The cold was so severe that even the adults struggled to speak normally, while his children began shivering uncontrollably.
“Can a tent really protect us? The tent is not protecting us,” he said, reflecting the reality of many families who have no alternative but to live in worn-out tents incapable of withstanding wind and rain.
Floodwaters Sweep Away What Little Remains
At Asdaa Camp, north of Khan Younis, 57-year-old Amira Mohammed Ahmed suffered losses beyond soaked mattresses and blankets. Floodwaters swept away most of her household utensils, food supplies, and medical necessities after torrents tore sections of her tent apart and ripped through its tarpaulin coverings.
Amira told Sky News Arabia that she lives in the camp with her two daughters. Rainwater flooded the tent, and she was unable to control the water or save her belongings. Children’s clothes and possessions remained submerged, while some of the younger children developed coughs and fatigue.
With nowhere else to seek shelter, she was forced to move her daughters and some of the children to a nearby prayer room to protect them from the rain. She remained outside, sitting on a chair in the downpour.
She added that the water had ruined the mattresses, food supplies, and medical necessities, leaving the family without enough resources even to change their clothes or wash items that had been submerged.
Hundreds of Displacement Sites at Risk
The suffering of these three families is far from isolated. Their experiences reflect the scale of the dangers facing displaced communities as the rainy season begins, amid deteriorating shelter conditions and damage to roads, sewage networks, and stormwater drainage systems caused by the widespread destruction of Gaza’s infrastructure during the Israeli war.
The Gaza Municipality announced that the city received approximately 60 millimeters of rainfall from Friday night through Saturday, equivalent to nearly 15% of the annual average. It attributed water accumulation and flooding in some areas to damage sustained by infrastructure and facilities during the war, as well as shortages of the machinery and equipment needed to respond.
The risks extend beyond the city. A report issued last September by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) identified 451 displacement sites as being at high risk of flooding, with approximately 464,000 people living in them.
In another report, OCHA indicated that 65% of displaced households covered by a Shelter Cluster assessment were living in tents or temporary shelters. More than half of these shelters were in poor or very poor condition, highlighting the limited protection available as the cold and rainy season approaches.
Civil Defense estimates indicate that Gaza needs approximately 300,000 tents to provide shelter for displaced people affected by the crisis, while available supplies remain insufficient to meet the scale of demand.
UN Preparations as Needs Outpace Available Resources
In response to the risk of flooding, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) announced that it had mobilized its machinery under a neighborhood-level winter response plan. The initiative included deploying 22 heavy-duty vehicles and machines across various parts of the Strip, including bulldozers and trucks, to help remove solid waste, clear blocked stormwater drainage channels, and reduce water accumulation in low-lying areas.
The interventions also included preparing and reinforcing 94 sites to reduce flood risks and improve living conditions for displaced families.
However, these measures have done little to ease concerns over shortages of emergency supplies. OCHA has warned that available stocks inside the Gaza Strip are insufficient to meet the basic needs of people affected by severe weather conditions. It noted that funding shortages and restrictions on the entry of materials and equipment have reduced humanitarian organizations’ ability to prepare for the winter season.
The office called for winter supplies, heavy machinery, spare parts, and engine oils needed to operate vehicles and generators used in humanitarian operations to be allowed into Gaza. It also urged the provision of urgent funding to expand the response.
Between Tents and Rain: An Endless Wait
As Rana searches for dry blankets and clothes for her children, Adam looks for shelter that can protect his family from the cold, while Amira struggles to recover the basic necessities of life after floodwaters swept away most of her possessions.
The rain that flooded their tents raises a question that goes beyond families’ ability to endure a single stormy night. With displacement continuing, infrastructure deteriorating, and shelter supplies running short, providing safer accommodation, improving rainwater drainage, and allowing winter aid into Gaza remain urgent priorities.
Without these measures, the coming storms could bring further losses to families who have little left to protect them.
