Thousands in storm-hit Gaza wait for 150,000 tents as floods hit camps

A deep weather depression has brought heavy rain and flooding that has submerged large areas of Gaza, according to local officials. The Guardian reported that thousands of people without shelter face dangerous conditions while they wait for 150,000 tents.

Gaza's Government Media Office says the rain has submerged or damaged 70,000 tents, affecting approximately 350,000 people. In some displacement camps, water reached nearly 1.5 metres.

Within 12 hours of the storm, Gaza's Civil Defence received more than 2,000 distress calls but could respond to only 218, because of fuel shortages and equipment breakdowns, Al Jazeera reported.

The Government Media Office says more than 700km of Gaza's sewage network has been destroyed. In Gaza City, most water and sewage pumps are out of service, and the municipality relies on one bulldozer, which often breaks down, and two water suction trucks.

Husni Muhanna, spokesman for Gaza City municipality, said the municipality lost about 85 percent of its fleet during the war, leaving it with 15 percent of its previous total. He said six of eight sewage pumps were destroyed and only two have been restarted, cutting drainage capacity to about 20 percent at best.

Gaza City has also lost about 2,800 of the 4,800 stormwater drains that existed before the war. About a million residents and displaced people are concentrated in an area covering less than one third of the city.

The municipality and local institutions have prepared an emergency winter plan that needs $1.3m worth of materials and equipment, but it depends on funding and supplies that Israeli restrictions have hampered. Ismail al-Thawabta said Gaza needs 300,000 to 350,000 tents and reinforced plastic tarps, plus caravans. Mobile homes meant to enter under the October 2025 ceasefire agreement have been held up at the border.

Officials also listed needs including 1,000-1,500 water pumps, 300-500 heavy machines, generators, 5 million heavy blankets and about 400,000 heaters. Al Jazeera reported that aid entering Gaza remains a fraction of what the 2.3 million population needs, due to Israeli restrictions.