Displacement
Heavy Rains Devastate Gaza’s Displacement Camps, Leaving Thousands Homeless
Heavy rains swept Gaza in early November, collapsing sand dunes and flooding tents. At least six thousand family shelters were destroyed, over 3,900 households now have no shelter, and five people, including three children, were killed.
American Impact Alliance News Desk2 minute read
Scale of Shelter Damage and Immediate Needs
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, roughly 65 % of Gaza’s population – about 1.4 million people – rely on tents or makeshift shelters. The November storms destroyed at least 6,000 family shelters and damaged more than 17,400 others, leaving over 3,900 households completely without shelter. Humanitarian partners have received appeals from more than 26,000 households whose tents or belongings were hit, yet assessments have been completed for only 1,877 households and assistance delivered to 422 families across 29 displacement sites. The scale of loss has exhausted existing stocks of tents, tarpaulins, blankets and clothing.
Impact on Children and Essential Services
Floodwaters rose to about 1.5 metres in some areas, submerging at least 55 learning spaces that serve roughly 55,000 children. Health facilities also suffered damage, forcing some medical teams to suspend services, while civil defence units logged 2,166 distress calls but could respond to only 218. Mine‑action partners warned that the flood could expose or displace explosive ordnance, adding further risk for displaced families. The tragedy claimed at least five lives – three children and two women – when a sand dune collapsed onto tents at Al Berka Reservoir near Deir Al Balah.
Humanitarian Response and Access Constraints
The UN and its partners are pumping water, improving drainage, reinforcing sites with sandbags and repairing shelters, but humanitarian stocks of essential items are virtually exhausted. More than 150,000 tents purchased by donors are staged outside Gaza, including about 117,000 held by the Egyptian Relief Committee in Al‑Arish, awaiting clearance. UN Deputy Special Coordinator Ramiz Alakbarov urged the immediate lifting of restrictions that delay the entry of vacuum trucks, dewatering pumps, heavy machinery, spare parts and winter clothing. UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq noted that Israeli permissions remain a bottleneck, even as occasional gunfire forces aid workers to take cover.