The Hamas-run government media office said about 70,000 tents sheltering tens of thousands of displaced people were flooded on the first day of rains. The statement also noted the collapse of dozens of cracked walls and roofs, which caused injuries, some critical, in various areas of the territory.

Hundreds of displaced families fled camps in Gaza City and in the central and northern areas of the Strip after they were inundated by rainwater. Civil defence spokesman Mahmoud Bassal told AFP that his teams received more than 1,500 calls during the night from residents requesting urgent assistance after their tents were flooded.

Bassal said the agency is operating without any equipment or capabilities and has issued an urgent distress call to the international community and humanitarian organisations to intervene immediately to save hundreds of thousands of displaced people from the flooding of their tents.

Residents described the devastation. Um Muhammad al-Hersh, 45, who lives with her family in a tent in western Gaza, said they were not able to save the mattresses, and all the clothes were soaked. Maryam Odeh, 34, from Deir al-Balah, said, “We no longer know how to protect our children. My children ask me where we will sleep tonight, and I have no answer.” Khaled al-Najjar, 41, said they fear for their children from the flooding, the cold and the spread of disease.

A coalition of Palestinian civil society organisations warned of the risk of disease and epidemics and called for pressure on Israel to allow the entry of humanitarian aid without restrictions. Mustafa Qazzaat, a member of the Gaza city council, said Israel has not allowed prefabricated homes to shelter the displaced since the truce and has only permitted limited numbers of tents. He said Gaza needs 200,000 prefabricated homes and heavy machinery to clear rubble and restore infrastructure.

A fragile ceasefire came into effect in October 2025 after two years of war that began with the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Despite the ceasefire, the Israeli army continues airstrikes and ground operations.

UNICEF special representative Jonathan Veitch said the majority of people are living in “terrible conditions” and called for more funding to provide aid. The Gaza Civil Defence said more than 2,000 buildings are at risk of collapse and at least 300,000 tents are needed.