Gaza: 900,000 displaced struggle as storms damage camps

Shafaq News - Gaza

Severe winter storms swept across the Gaza Strip on Sunday, flooding and tearing apart displacement camps as heavy rain, strong winds, and high sea waves compounded the hardship facing hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians living in fragile shelters.

According to Palestinian media, powerful winds and rising waves inundated tents along the coast of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, leaving families exposed to cold and rain. The mayor of Khan Younis confirmed that more than 1,000 tents were damaged along the city’s shoreline, describing the coastal zone as unfit for habitation.

Harsh weather conditions also hit Gaza City, where displaced families shelter in makeshift tents at Al-Shati (Beach) camp that offer little protection against winter conditions. Near the city’s port, a young Palestinian woman was killed when a wall from a war-damaged building collapsed onto a nearby tent during the storm, adding to the cumulative death toll of at least 71,266 people since the Israeli war began on October 7, 2023.

معاناة مستمرة.. مياه الأمطار وارتفاع أمواج البحر وشدة الرياح تقتلع خيام النازحين في مواصي خانيونس جنوب قطاع غزة. pic.twitter.com/y67fdD3gcb

— المركز الفلسطيني للإعلام (@PalinfoAr) December 28, 2025

The Palestinian Non-Governmental Organizations Network (PNGO) estimated that around 900,000 displaced people are living in worn-out tents, warning that the current low-pressure system has sharply worsened already severe living conditions.

Against this backdrop, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine described the deaths caused by collapsing structures and storm-damaged shelters as “a moral and historical test” for the international community. The group accused Israel of exploiting what it called international “normalization” of Gaza’s catastrophe by continuing to block the entry of essential shelter supplies, including tents and caravans.

The United Nations had previously warned that the acute shortage of shelter across the Strip has forced families to seek refuge in partially or heavily damaged buildings, confirming that about 630,000 adolescents across Gaza still lack winter clothing.

“We and our partners call once again for the lifting of all restrictions on the entry of aid into Gaza, including shelter materials,” the UN said.