Heavy rainfall inundates 70,000 displacement tents across Gaza

• A severe low-pressure weather system inundated and damaged around 70,000 displaced persons' tents on its first day
• Storm conditions caused dozens of cracked walls and weakened ceilings to collapse across the enclave
• The Palestinian NGO Network warned of impending disease outbreaks amid mixing sewage

Torrential rainfall and severe winter storms flooded tens of thousands of makeshift tents across the Gaza Strip on Monday, leaving five people dead, including three children, and plunging displaced families into an acute humanitarian emergency.

According to Gaza’s Civil Defense, five fatalities occurred as extreme weather battered refugee encampments and structurally damaged buildings.

The government media office in Gaza reported that approximately 70,000 tents were submerged or torn apart within the first 24 hours of the low-pressure system, displacing tens of thousands who were already living in precarious temporary shelters.

Local authorities documented the collapse of dozens of cracked walls and weakened roofs, resulting in numerous injuries, including several critical cases admitted to overwhelmed medical facilities.

Displaced residents across northern, central, and Gaza City encampments described waking before dawn to waist-deep floodwaters mixed with overflowing raw sewage, destroying bedding, blankets, and meager food supplies.

Many reported that plastic tarpaulins failed under heavy rainfall, forcing hundreds of families to flee into open areas in search of dry ground.

In response to the deteriorating conditions, the Palestinian NGO Network issued an urgent warning of an unfolding health catastrophe, cautioning that standing floodwaters and compromised sanitation lines significantly elevate the threat of waterborne epidemics and respiratory illnesses among children.

The coalition of dozens of local civil society organizations called for immediate international intervention to pressure Israeli authorities to lift restrictions on humanitarian access, open border crossings, and permit the immediate entry of weather-resistant winter tents, plastic sheeting, and essential relief cargo.