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Winter rains worsen Gaza shelter crisis as aid remains blocked
Aid organizations have issued urgent warnings that over 260,000 Palestinian families-roughly 1.5 million people-face life-threatening conditions after the first winter storm flooded makeshift shelters across Gaza, with critical supplies still barred from entry despite a two-month-old ceasefire.
'Children will perish': Agencies sound alarm
Jan Egeland, Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), declared the situation a "humanitarian catastrophe in slow motion," stating, "We are going to lose lives this winter. Children, families will perish." The NRC leads the Shelter Cluster, a coalition of 20 NGOs coordinating Gaza's emergency response.
Egeland criticized the delay in aid delivery since the US-brokered Israel-Hamas ceasefire took effect on 10 October, noting that the Trump peace plan had promised unimpeded humanitarian access. "It's frustrating that we've lost crucial weeks while Palestinians suffer needlessly," he said.
Floods, sewage contamination spark disease fears
Heavy rains beginning Friday (15 November) submerged tents and displaced communities already grappling with two years of war. In Gaza City, Fatima Hamdona described ankle-deep floodwaters ruining her family's last food supplies: "The flour got wet. We're destroyed. Where do we go? There's no shelter left," she told a BBC journalist through tears.
In Khan Younis, Nihad Shabat attempted to salvage soaked mattresses and blankets from her shelter-constructed from sheets-while voicing fears of repeat flooding. "We can't afford a tent," she said. Health experts warn that stagnant water mixed with sewage risks outbreaks of cholera and other diseases.
Bureaucratic gridlock: 44,000 pallets of aid stuck
Aid groups report only 19,000 tents have entered Gaza since the ceasefire, while 44,000 pallets of non-food items-including tents, bedding, and tarpaulins-remain blocked in Egypt, Jordan, and Israel. Egeland blamed a "bureaucratic, military, politicized quagmire" violating humanitarian principles.
Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) countered that it had facilitated 190,000 tents and tarpaulins since the ceasefire, with "hundreds of trucks" entering daily carrying food, medicine, and shelter supplies. In a Sunday statement on X, COGAT urged NGOs to "coordinate more winter aid" and highlighted collaboration with the new US-led Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) in southern Israel.
'Dual-use' restrictions and data disputes
Israel classifies items like tent poles as "dual-use"-potentially repurposed for military use-banning or restricting their entry. Since March, Israel has also required aid groups to submit lists of Palestinian staff, citing security. NGOs argue this violates data protection laws in donor countries.
Black market exploits scarcity as prices plummet
Gazans report tents donated by international agencies and Gulf states are being stolen and resold on the black market. Prices have dropped from $2,700 pre-ceasefire to $900-1,000 amid limited supply increases, but remain unaffordable for most. Alaa al-Dirghali, a Khan Younis resident, pleaded for equitable distribution: "People are re-erecting broken tents because they have no alternative. Those responsible must ensure aid reaches the needy-not profiteers."
Long-term reconstruction vs. immediate survival
With a donor conference on Palestinian reconstruction planned soon in Egypt, Egeland warned against prioritizing future projects over urgent needs: "It's no use discussing high-rise buildings in five years if people freeze to death this winter. They need tents today."
Rami Deif Allah, displaced from Beit Hanoun, dried sodden mattresses in Gaza City after his waterproof tent flooded. "We evacuated 11 times-there's no safe place," he said. "We'll rebuild with our own hands if we must, but living in the streets is unbearable."
UN report: 80% of buildings destroyed
A recent UN assessment found 80% of Gaza's buildings damaged or destroyed, with 92% in Gaza City alone. The NRC estimates 1.5 million people lack winterized shelter, as temperatures drop and rains persist.
