Gaza storm kills five and floods camps as UN says 150,000 tents wait outside; Israel cites 91,000 let in

Gaza's first major storm of the winter flooded displacement camps across all five of the Strip's governorates from November 6 through the weekend, killing at least five people when a sandy hill collapsed onto tents near Deir al-Balah. The United Nations says tens of thousands of families need help and that its stocks of tents, tarpaulins and blankets inside Gaza are "virtually exhausted," while more than 150,000 tents wait outside the territory. Israel says it has already let more than 91,000 tents into Gaza under a winter plan, and that Hamas, not Israeli policy, is blocking larger-scale rebuilding.

The storm has sharpened a dispute that predates it: how much shelter material is getting into Gaza, who is responsible for the gap, and whether reconstruction can begin while Hamas remains armed. About 1.4 million Palestinians, or an estimated 65% of Gaza's population, live in tents or makeshift shelters, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Many of those tents have been through three winters already. That reality, not the rain alone, is why a weekend storm produced emergency conditions.

What the storm did#

Heavy rain and strong winds hit Gaza from the evening of November 6, according to OCHA's situation report of November 8. The UN agency reported that at Al Berka Reservoir, west of Deir al-Balah, a sandy hill collapsed onto tents, killing five displaced people, three children and two women, and injuring one, citing Gaza's Civil Defense. It also said an infant reportedly drowned at a displacement site. Other accounts differ on the details. The Anadolu agency, in a report published by Al Jazeera, said four of the five people killed were children, citing local health authorities.

OCHA's Site Management Cluster recorded about 268 weather-related alerts affecting more than 26,000 households by midnight on November 7. It reported these preliminary figures, which it said are subject to verification:

Damaged

17,400

Destroyed

6,000

Source: UN OCHA, Humanitarian Situation Report, Nov. 8, 2026

Show the numbers

Status	Family shelters
Damaged	17,400
Destroyed	6,000

The same cluster said more than 3,900 households had no shelter at all and that about 600 households were thought to have been displaced again. It also counted 66 latrines destroyed and 618 damaged. More than 20,000 households across 222 sites need shelter and household items, it said.

Gaza's Civil Defense told OCHA it received 2,166 distress calls and was able to respond to 218 of them. It said water reached 1.5 meters in some places. Gaza's Government Media Office said about 70,000 tents were flooded and put initial damage at about $3 million, according to Al Jazeera.

The effects reached other services. OCHA said flooding hit at least 55 learning spaces serving about 55,000 children, and that some health facilities, including Nasser Medical Complex, had water in several departments. Food and health services were also disrupted. At least eight community kitchens cut production by half on November 7, about 25,000 fewer meals, before returning to normal the next day, OCHA said. Médecins du Monde recorded a 54% drop in consultations because flooded roads slowed staff, and partners reported worsening shortages of antibiotics, fever reducers and anti-diarrhea medicine. Health workers expect more respiratory and skin infections as people spend days in wet bedding and clothes.

Mine-clearance partners warned that floodwater can expose or move unexploded ordnance. At least 4,000 high-risk buildings have been identified, OCHA said.

The core dispute: what is getting in, and why not more#

Both sides agree that winter supplies have entered Gaza. They disagree about whether it is enough and about who is responsible for the shortfall.

The figures in the table come from different parties and measure different things, so they cannot be netted against each other. COGAT's numbers are cumulative since its winter plan began. OCHA's figure counts tents bought by aid groups and governments that have not yet entered. The Civil Defense figure is its own estimate of need.

Israel's position. The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, the Israeli military body that oversees crossings, said in a post on X that it was monitoring conditions and coordinating with the UN and international groups, according to Israel National News. Since its Gaza Winterization Plan began, it said, more than 91,000 tents and more than 8,200 trucks of tarpaulins, blankets, winter clothing and other equipment have entered. It listed 12 vacuum trucks, vaccine doses, and fuel and engine oil for pumping stations. "Israel will not permit the entry of equipment that could be used to develop terrorist capabilities," COGAT said. It added that large-scale reconstruction cannot begin until Hamas fully disarms.

Israeli security officials went further in comments to The Jerusalem Post. They said mobile homes and building materials will not be allowed in while Hamas refuses to disarm. "Even now, Hamas is exploiting the aid entering the Gaza Strip to rebuild its military wing," one official said. The same official said conditions are "the best it has been since the war began," because there is no major ground maneuvering and fewer limits on general goods than in earlier winters.

The UN's position. OCHA says aid groups spent months preparing, staging more than 150,000 tents, 300,000 tarpaulins and 500,000 blankets outside Gaza. But it says "Israeli restrictions on the entry of supplies and equipment and funding shortfalls" limited what was inside when the rain came. About 117,000 of the waiting tents are with the Egyptian Relief Committee in Al-Arish, it said. The agency's top requests are more Israeli approvals for shelter items, engine oil, spare parts and heavy machinery, plus more money.

Aid groups. Save the Children made the sharpest charge. "This is not simply the result of bad weather," Ahmad Alhendawi, its regional director, said in a statement. "Tents, shelter kits and fuel are waiting at Gaza's borders while children sleep in floodwater, because the Israeli authorities are blocking their entry. This is a choice, and children are paying the price." The group cited a Palestine Shelter Cluster assessment that about 1.2 million people, including more than 560,000 children, live in "critical or catastrophic" shelter conditions. It also said 60% of the $283 million sought for winter preparedness is unfunded.

Gaza's authorities. Gaza's Civil Defense has called for winter rescue equipment, machinery, plastic sheeting, tents and prefabricated mobile shelters, according to OCHA. It says at least 300,000 tents are needed and that more than 2,000 buildings are at risk of collapse, Al Jazeera reported. Hamas announced in July that it was dissolving its government in favor of a UN-backed technocratic committee, but Al Jazeera reported that service staff stayed in their posts and Israel has not let the committee enter Gaza. Israeli officials and media still describe the Civil Defense and the media office as Hamas-run. The Jerusalem Post reported that Hamas blamed Israel for the flood damage and that COGAT had prepared for what Israeli officials called a coordinated Hamas campaign on social media.

What the evidence can and cannot settle#

Some points are not in dispute. Aid has entered, tents remain outside, and a large share of Gaza's people are living in shelters that a single storm can wreck. Funding is also short by the UN's and Save the Children's own accounts, which means not every gap can be traced to crossing policy.

Other points are contested or unverified. COGAT's figures are its own and cover a longer period than the storm. The UN and aid groups do not specify, in these statements, which shipments Israel has refused or delayed, so readers cannot match the 150,000 waiting tents to particular denials. The Israeli claim that Hamas diverts civilian goods for military use is a security assessment that this article could not independently verify. The Gaza casualty and damage figures come from Gaza bodies that Israel describes as Hamas-run, and OCHA labels its own numbers preliminary.

The policy disagreement is clearer. Save the Children says the ceasefire announced more than a year ago provided for caravans as a sturdier alternative to tents, and that Israeli authorities have repeatedly blocked them. Israeli officials link mobile homes and rebuilding to Hamas's disarmament. That makes the shelter question part of the larger stalemate over who governs Gaza, which 567politics covered in its report on stalled governance plans and Gaza police deaths and in its report on stalled diplomacy over the next phase of the ceasefire.

Background: a fourth winter in tents#

Last week, 567politics reported that Board of Peace envoy Nickolay Mladenov was seeking Israeli approval for winter shelter as Gaza faced a fourth winter in tents. The storm arrived before that request was resolved. Separately, cuts at UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, have drawn protests in Gaza. Save the Children's statement called UNRWA "the backbone of the humanitarian response," a point 567politics examined in its report on UNRWA staff protests over job cuts.

The rainy season in Gaza usually runs through March. OCHA said partners had installed more than 135,000 sandbags since September, including 50,000 during this storm. Save the Children said more than 464,000 people live in displacement sites at high risk of flooding, especially in Al-Mawasi, Deir al-Balah and parts of Gaza City. More storms are expected.

What to watch#

The next tests are practical. One is whether Israel approves more of the tents, pumps, engine oil and heavy machinery that OCHA lists as urgent. Another is whether donors close the winter funding gap. A third is whether any agreement on Gaza's governance or Hamas's weapons opens the way for the caravans and rebuilding that Israel says depend on disarmament. Each side has set out its terms in public. The weekend's floods show how little margin Gaza's displaced families have while those terms remain unmet.

Differing perspectives

Who is responsible for Gaza's shelter shortage this winter, and what should change?

Each position is summarized as its supporters make it, with equal weight and in alphabetical order. A summary is not an endorsement; the evidence for each is weighed in the story above.

• Aid is flowing; rebuilding requires Hamas to disarm

  Who holds it: Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) and Israeli security officials

  COGAT says its winter plan has brought more than 91,000 tents and over 8,200 trucks of tarpaulins, blankets and clothing into Gaza, plus vacuum trucks, vaccines and fuel for pumps. It says it coordinates with the UN and keeps assessing needs. Israel argues it cannot allow equipment that could build military capabilities, and that large-scale reconstruction must wait until Hamas fully disarms and stops using civilian equipment for military purposes.

  In their words: Israel National News, reporting COGAT's statement ↗

• Approve more supplies and fund the response

  Who holds it: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and UN humanitarian partners

  OCHA says aid groups prepared for months and staged more than 150,000 tents, 300,000 tarpaulins and 500,000 blankets outside Gaza. It argues that Israeli restrictions on the entry of supplies and equipment, together with funding shortfalls, left stocks inside Gaza nearly exhausted when the storm hit. Its urgent requests are more Israeli approvals for shelter items, engine oil, spare parts and heavy machinery, and more donor money.

  In their words: UN OCHA, occupied Palestinian territory ↗

• Open all crossings now; the crisis was foreseeable

  Who holds it: Save the Children International

  Save the Children says the flooding was entirely foreseeable and not simply bad weather. It argues tents, shelter kits and fuel are waiting at Gaza's borders because Israeli authorities are blocking them, and that Israel as the occupying power must ensure civilians get what they need to survive. It urges pressure to open all crossings without restriction, entry of the caravans promised under the ceasefire, and more donor support, including for UNRWA.

  In their words: Save the Children International ↗

• Send rescue equipment and mobile shelters at scale

  Who holds it: Gaza's Civil Defense and Government Media Office

  Gaza's Civil Defense says it received far more distress calls than it could answer and that at least 300,000 tents are needed, while more than 2,000 buildings risk collapse. The Government Media Office says about 70,000 tents flooded within hours and puts early damage at about $3 million. Local responders say the scale of need outstrips what is inside Gaza and call for far more shelter and rescue capacity to be allowed in.

  In their words: Al Jazeera (Anadolu), reporting Civil Defense and Government Media Office statements ↗

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