Update · 7 Nov 2026, 6:55 PM PKT: Civil Defence said it received 1,500 distress calls in 10 hours as the storm swept through displacement camps. Gaza's civil defence agency had earlier reported receiving hundreds of calls for help.
Rainwater has flooded shelters across Gaza during the latest storm, leaving displaced families cold and wet while damaged apartment blocks face a growing risk of collapse. Reporting from Gaza City, the account describes families in al-Mina camp in northern Gaza who woke to find their tents soaked overnight.
The storms arrive as many Palestinians are spending their fourth winter outside their homes since Israel began its war on the enclave in October 2023. Water levels rose by 30 to 40cm at several camps after Saturday’s rain, and Gaza’s civil defence agency received hundreds of calls for help.
Flooded tents leave families shivering in al-Mina camp
Rana Adnan Hmeida, 29, stood at the entrance of her tent in al-Mina holding her two-month-old daughter after water poured into the shelter overnight. Her bedding, blankets and clothing were drenched, and her children were left exposed to the cold and wind.
Hmeida, her husband and their children had been awake since midnight as rain and gusts swept through the camp. She said she had to ask neighbours to help dry the family’s clothes. “In the morning, I found my son and little daughter shivering. My two-month-old baby was freezing,” she said.
Her husband, Sameh Hmeida, 30, said the tent sits especially exposed because it is close to the sea. The family has no tarpaulins or insulating materials that might have offered protection during the storm.
Raed Abu Amsha, 40, said his tent collapsed on top of his family during the storm. The clothes and blankets belonging to the nine children in his care, four of whom are the children of his late brother, were soaked. “We need tents, tarpaulins and anything that can protect our children,” he said.
Rainwater has also flooded many tents in al-Mina, where about 1,700 Palestinian families live, turning the ground into pools of muddy water.
Damaged towers in Nuseirat face rising collapse risk
In Nuseirat, a decades-old camp in central Gaza with permanent structures, rainfall threatens families living in buildings already damaged by Israeli bombardment. Residents there face a different kind of danger, with the risk coming from above as well as from the water.
Nasser al-Hajj, 54, lives in a tower block that was hit in an Israeli strike in September 2025. Debris from the upper floors fell onto his home and left a large hole in the ceiling, and water now enters whenever it rains.
Although support beams have been installed to reinforce the ceiling, an engineer has warned al-Hajj that the apartment is dangerous. Further rubble could fall from the building if more bad weather reaches Gaza. During the latest storm, he moved his children to a neighbour’s home and waited for the falling debris to stop.
Two of his children have autism and sleep in the building’s guard room, away from the damaged section. Al-Hajj said he has little choice. “I am forced to live somewhere that could collapse over our heads at any moment. But where am I supposed to go? Rent is expensive, and a tent is not safe either,” he said. “I know how dangerous this place is, but I have no other option,” he added.
Aid shortages and damaged drainage hamper storm response
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), about 950,000 displaced people in Gaza are living in areas exposed to flooding. More than 400,000 of them are in areas considered at high risk, with low-lying sites and locations near the coast particularly vulnerable.
OCHA also said about 44,000 Palestinians are living in structurally unsafe buildings. More than 4,000 buildings across the territory are estimated to need full or partial demolition because of damage from Israeli air strikes. About 294,250 families need shelter assistance ahead of winter, but the available supplies cover only 18 percent of those needs.
The Gaza Municipality is struggling to cope with the storms. Damage to the city’s water infrastructure includes:
- About 15 kilometres of rainwater drainage lines
- About 212 kilometres of sewage networks
- Eight pumping stations, which are out of service
- Three main stormwater collection basins, which are out of service
Municipality spokesperson Hosni Muhanna said the remaining system can handle no more than 20 percent of rainwater, even under the best of circumstances. “[We] continue to clean drainage systems in preparation for the rainy season,” Muhanna said.
Crews have been sent to clear drains and manholes, remove rubbish, clear water channels, repair damaged drainage sections and operate water pumps. Muhanna warned, however, that these efforts cannot restore the network’s capacity while fuel, equipment and spare parts remain in short supply.
He also said more than 2,000 buildings in Gaza City alone are at risk of collapse, and that the volume of rubble in the city has exceeded 25 million tonnes.
Camp committees struggle to meet demand for tents
Emergency committees in the displacement camps are facing their own shortages of shelter supplies. Adli Awad, an official with the emergency committee in Nuseirat refugee camp, said his team is trying to distribute tents and tarpaulins, particularly to families hit by the rain. The number of people in need, however, far outstrips the stock available.
“We are trying to provide as many tents and tarpaulins as possible. We are also helping families dig channels to divert rainwater away from tents and reduce flooding,” Awad said.
