Gaza civil defense warns rains threaten displaced
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The gist
Gaza's Civil Defense warned heavy rain and wind expected Friday could endanger displaced Palestinians in tents and damaged buildings.
Nearly 950,000 displaced people live in areas exposed to moderate or high flood risk.
Background
Gaza's Civil Defense (the Palestinian Civil Defense Directorate) is the territory's emergency service, operating under the authority of Hamas that runs Gaza. It issued the warning as winter approaches, after Israel's military offensive destroyed residential neighborhoods and forced Palestinians into tents, temporary shelters and damaged buildings. Israeli restrictions on shelter materials and equipment remain in place despite a ceasefire that took effect on Oct. 10, 2025, and damaged drainage systems leave low-lying areas prone to flash floods.
How it unfolded
- Dec 10, 2025Heavy rainfall ahead of Storm Byron flooded thousands of tents across Gaza; OCHA said nearly 850,000 people in 761 displacement sites faced the highest flood risk.
- Dec 15, 2025Authorities warned stormy weather could collapse more war-damaged buildings; two buildings had collapsed three days earlier, killing at least 12 people.
- Sep 22, 2026Gaza's Civil Defense warned winter weather threatens to bring down war-damaged buildings, with about 1.2 million Palestinians (58 percent of the population) living in worn-out tents and makeshift shelters.
- Nov 3, 2026A committee warned more than 100 displacement camps are at risk of flooding and around 2,000 buildings are structurally damaged and at risk of collapse in heavy rain and wind.
- Nov 5, 2026Gaza's Civil Defense warned heavy rainfall and strong winds expected Friday could endanger displaced Palestinians in tents, temporary shelters and damaged buildings; UN figures put nearly 950,000 displaced people in areas exposed to moderate or high flood risk.
Key terms
- Hamas
- Sunni Islamist Palestinian nationalist political and military organisation that has governed the Gaza Strip.
- ceasefire
- A temporary agreement between warring sides to suspend aggressive actions, often mediated by a third party.
- OCHA
- A UN body that coordinates international humanitarian response to emergencies and natural disasters.
Source: Wikipedia
Who’s saying what
- Official
- The Palestinian Civil Defense Directorate urged residents to secure plastic coverings and tent pegs, build earthen barriers, dig drainage channels and keep belongings elevated, and warned against staying in or pitching tents near damaged buildings.
- Official
- The Civil Defense appealed to humanitarian and community organizations to urgently provide safe shelter for displaced families and strengthen protection against severe weather.
- Expert
- A committee warned that 7,800 tents in extremely hazardous areas, including dry riverbeds, rainwater collection ponds and beaches, need urgent relocation, and that destroyed equipment and a fuel crisis will soon halt machinery and generators.
- Public
- Anas al-Shami, 33, displaced from Bani Suheila, said overcrowding and high rents forced his family of six onto the beach, where last winter seawater and rain flooded his tent while they slept.
- Public
- Ibrahim Abu Tair, 47, displaced from eastern Khan Younis, said he feels helpless before his children and cannot provide winter clothes or a dry mattress for his seven children.