The key facts

  • Heavy rains flooded about 70,000 tents in camps for displaced residents of Gaza, according to the media office of the Gaza authorities
  • EU Commissioner Hadja Lahbib called for urgently expanding access to humanitarian aid
  • UNRWA previously reported that about 1.98 million people in Gaza need shelter and basic necessities

Flooding of camps and the European Commission's appeal

EU Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management, Hadja Lahbib, on Sunday called for expanding access to humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip after heavy rains flooded camps for displaced Palestinians, worsening conditions for families already in a severe humanitarian crisis. This was reported by Anadolu citing her posts on the social network X.

What is known about the scale of the disaster

“In Gaza, families are bailing water out of their tents with pots,” Lahbib wrote, adding that the rains are aggravating an already unbearable crisis. According to the media office of the Gaza authorities, the storm, which began late Friday, flooded about 70,000 tents sheltering displaced Palestinians; damaged infrastructure and a shortage of emergency equipment are complicating rescue efforts. Lahbib noted that humanitarian organizations continue to work despite the storm, but stressed: “They need more aid to get in, now.”

The scale of needs ahead of winter

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) had previously spoken about the needs in the Strip: on Thursday it reported that about 1.98 million people in Gaza need shelter and other basic necessities, underscoring the scale of humanitarian needs ahead of the onset of winter. UNRWA's message refers to Thursday, that is, to the period before the storm began late Friday — meaning the flooding of the tents occurred against the backdrop of a shelter shortage already documented by the agency.