In brief
UN officials reported that heavy rains since Friday tore through Gaza, flooding thousands of homes, collapsing tents and depleting emergency supplies. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs called for urgent funding and the lifting of Israeli restrictions to meet the surge in need. A UN spokesperson warned that continued airstrikes and damaged infrastructure compound the dire situation.
The United Nations warned on Monday that heavy rains over the Gaza Strip since Friday had worsened an already critical humanitarian situation, flooding shelters and leaving emergency supplies nearly exhausted.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the rain—which began on Friday evening—exposed the fragility of shelters, triggered widespread flooding, and damaged humanitarian facilities and learning spaces. An infant reportedly drowned and a sandy hill collapse killed three children and two women, OCHA said.
Humanitarian partners responded by pumping water, improving drainage, reinforcing displacement sites with sandbags, repairing shelters where possible, and delivering emergency supplies. Yet OCHA noted that “humanitarian stocks of tents, tarpaulins, blankets and clothes inside Gaza are virtually exhausted.” Over 150,000 tents purchased by humanitarian partners and UN member states were “outside Gaza ready for dispatch,” the office added.
UN humanitarian coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory, Ramiz Alakbarov, said Monday in Ramallah that while rain is natural, people’s vulnerability is man‑made. He called for the urgent lifting of all unnecessary restrictions that prevent organisations from bringing in enough supplies.
While rain is natural, people’s vulnerability is man‑made.
OCHA also reported that airstrikes continued to hit populated areas, causing additional casualties and damaging essential infrastructure, further hampering relief efforts. The UN stressed that urgent funding and the removal of Israeli restrictions are needed to scale up equipment and supplies, including vacuum trucks, mobile dewatering pumps, and heavy machinery.