In brief
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports widespread flooding and structural collapse after heavy rains in Gaza, with several deaths and thousands loosing homes. Humanitarian partners have mobilized but key supplies are nearly exhausted, prompting the UN to call for urgent funding and Israeli approval of aid. Additional reports claim 70,000 tents were flooded, though the UN has not confirmed this figure.
The United Nations warned Monday that a surge of heavy rains that began on Friday evening has worsened a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The thunderstorms triggered widespread flooding, destabilised shelters, damaged humanitarian facilities and learning spaces, and disrupted essential services.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), an infant reportedly drowned in the flood, and a sandy hill collapse killed three children and two women in tents. “Thousands of families have lost their shelters and belongings,” the office said, citing partner reports.
Humanitarian partners quickly assembled emergency supplies and reinforced displacement sites with sandbags, repaired shelters, and delivered aid. Yet OCHA warned that “humanitarian stocks of tents, tarpaulins, blankets and clothes inside Gaza are virtually exhausted,” and that relief teams work with far too little equipment. The UN called for urgent funding and Israeli approvals of vacuum trucks, mobile dewatering pumps, hoses, and heavy machinery to meet the scale of need.
UN humanitarian coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory Ramiz Alakbarov told a media briefing in Ramallah that “while rain is natural, people's vulnerability is man-made.” He cited hostilities that devastated homes and essential infrastructure and tight Israeli restrictions that limit preparations and access to flood-prone shoreline areas. Alakbarov urged an immediate lifting of all unnecessary restrictions to allow sufficient aid into Gaza.
OCHA also noted that airstrikes continued to hit populated areas, adding further casualties. In contrast, a report from Action For Humanity claimed 70,000 tents were flooded across Gaza, but this figure has not been corroborated by UN sources.