Gaza tents flooded as heavy rain hits displaced families

Heavy rain left Gaza tents flooded across the Strip on Saturday, adding to the hardship of displaced Palestinians without heating or proper shelter.

Eyewitnesses reported thousands of soaked tents. Affected areas included Gaza City’s port, the land west of Deir al-Balah, the zone north of Nuseirat camp, plus Jabalia and Beit Lahia.

What happened as Gaza tents flooded

A low-pressure system, a cold air mass and heavy rain hit the Strip. Families sheltering in worn tents had little protection from the water and the cold.

Water leaked into the dilapidated tents and destroyed the simple belongings of many families. Rescue teams struggled to respond, because the war destroyed so much infrastructure.

In northern Gaza, two Palestinians suffered injuries when rain loosened a wall in a building that earlier Israeli shelling had damaged. The wall fell on passers-by, a medical source said.

Gaza’s civil defence had warned residents beforehand to take safety steps. It urged people in shelters and damaged homes to stay careful.

Gaza tents flooded: the scale of the need

With Gaza tents flooded again, local officials say around 162,000 tents need replacement. Over 1,000 displacement sites, with roughly 1.1 million residents, face the threat of floods.

Close to 240,000 families live in zones that floods can reach. Damaged drainage networks and destroyed roads make matters worse.

Fuel and equipment are also short, so municipalities and civil defence teams cannot respond well to emergencies. Cold and damp threaten children, women, older people and the sick most.

Health workers fear the spread of disease as conditions worsen. Families urgently need new tents, waterproof sheeting, blankets, warm clothes, bedding and safe heaters.

Also, Israel limited the entry of shelter supplies and key equipment, which kept slowing the response. Without those items, families cannot protect themselves from winter weather.

A ceasefire that has not held

The rain falls under a ceasefire that took effect last October. Since then, ceasefire breaches have left 1,602 dead and about 5,799 hurt, based on figures from midweek.

Those attacks disrupt relief work and block aid from reaching people hit by the weather, local sources say.

Overall, the war that began in October 2023 has cost more than 74,000 Palestinian lives and left over 175,000 wounded. It has also nearly destroyed the health and service systems.

Raids in the West Bank

Meanwhile, Israeli forces arrested six Palestinians in raids across the occupied West Bank early on Saturday, local sources said. In Jenin, troops took five people to an undisclosed location.

In Nablus, soldiers raided Askar camp east of the city and detained a young man once they stormed his family’s house, the official Palestinian news agency said. Soldiers also raided Balata camp, searched homes and ransacked belongings.

Raids also hit towns such as al-Zawiya near Salfit, Tammun near Tubas, Iktaba near Tulkarem and al-Amari camp near Ramallah. Local sources reported no arrests there.

The army runs arrest campaigns across the West Bank almost every day, and they target men, women and children. Incursions often involve assaults on family members and the destruction of household belongings.

For now, Gaza tents flooded again show how a winter storm turns a humanitarian crisis into a deadly one. Also, families still wait for the shelter supplies that would keep their tents dry.