Torrential rain has swept across the Gaza Strip, inundating makeshift camps and pushing displaced Palestinians already enduring a two-year war into even more desperate conditions. The weekend's severe weather has transformed fragile tent cities into quagmires, with ankle-deep freezing water flooding shelters and soaking the few possessions families have left.
Life in the Flooded Camps
Heavy downpours lashed the territory, turning dirt roads into rivers and flooding encampments in areas like Khan Younis. Tents, already frayed from months of exposure, were inundated with muddy water that soaked blankets and mattresses. Fragile shelters, often propped up with salvaged wood, offered little protection.
Children waded through the freezing puddles wearing only flip-flops and light clothing, ill-suited for the harsh winter conditions. Some residents were seen using shovels in a desperate attempt to clear water from their temporary homes.
"We drowned last night," said Majdoleen Tarabein, a woman displaced from Rafah in southern Gaza. "Puddles formed, and there was a bad smell. The tent flew away. We don't know what to do or where to go." She showed blankets and other tent contents, completely soaked and covered in mud, as her family tried to wring them dry by hand.
Eman Abu Riziq, also displaced in Khan Younis, described a similar scene. "When we woke up in the morning, we found that the water had entered the tent," she said, pointing to a large puddle outside. "These are the mattresses—they are all completely soaked. My daughters' belongings were soaked. The water is entering from here and there." Her family is still coping with the recent death of her husband, with the struggle to stay dry adding to their trauma.
Mounting Death Toll and Collapsing Infrastructure
The health consequences are severe. Gaza's Health Ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, reports that at least 12 people, including a two-week-old infant, have died from hypothermia or weather-related collapses of war-damaged homes since 13 December.
Emergency workers have warned people not to stay in damaged buildings due to the high risk of sudden collapse. However, with much of the territory reduced to rubble, there are few alternatives for shelter. A United Nations Satellite Centre estimate from July indicated that almost 80% of buildings in Gaza have been destroyed or damaged.
According to the Health Ministry, since a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect on 11 October, 414 people have been killed and 1,142 wounded in Gaza. The overall Palestinian death toll from the war now stands at at least 71,266. The ministry's counts, maintained by medical professionals and viewed as generally reliable internationally, do not distinguish between militants and civilians.
Aid Shortfalls and Political Stalemate
The harsh weather is compounding a critical shortage of aid. An Associated Press analysis of Israeli military figures reveals that deliveries into Gaza are falling far short of the amounts stipulated under the US-brokered ceasefire. The Israeli military body overseeing humanitarian aid stated that 4,200 trucks of aid entered Gaza in the past week, along with sanitation trucks, tents, and winter clothing. However, it refused to detail the number of tents supplied.
Humanitarian groups insist the need vastly outstrips the supplies. The Shelter Cluster, an international aid coalition led by the Norwegian Refugee Council, reports that since the ceasefire began, approximately 72,000 tents and 403,000 tarps have entered Gaza—a figure deemed insufficient for the scale of displacement.
Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the top UN aid group in Gaza, wrote on X: "Harsh winter weather is compounding more than two years of suffering. People in Gaza are surviving in flimsy, waterlogged tents and among ruins. There is nothing inevitable about this. Aid supplies are not being allowed in at the scale required."
Politically, the situation remains fragile. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traveled to Washington to meet with US President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Monday 29 December, to discuss the ceasefire's second stage. Progress has slowed, with Israel stating it will not move forward while the remains of the final hostage killed in the 7 October 2023 attack are still in Gaza. The next phase faces challenges including deploying an international force, establishing a governing body for Gaza, disarming Hamas, and further Israeli troop withdrawals. Both Israel and Hamas have accused each other of violating the truce.
