....Winter Storm Ravages Gaza's Displacement Camps: Flooded Tents Expose Fragile Ceasefire Gains
Rafah, Gaza Strip – December 11, 2025 – For the second straight day, heavy winter rains have flooded hundreds of tents sheltering displaced Palestinian families across the Gaza Strip, turning fragile makeshift homes into pools of cold, sewage-contaminated water. The powerful storm system, known locally as “Byron,” has brought continuous downpours since Wednesday, worsening an already desperate humanitarian situation two months after a U.S.-brokered ceasefire ended 25 months of devastating war.
In southern Gaza’s Rafah area, Civil Defense teams worked through the night evacuating dozens of families from completely submerged tents. Emergency crews carried children and elderly residents through knee-deep water as canvas shelters collapsed under the weight of accumulated rain. Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Basal described conditions as catastrophic, warning that more than 250,000 displaced families living in worn-out tents remain highly vulnerable to flooding and extreme cold.
Across central and northern Gaza, similar scenes unfolded. In Deir el-Balah and Khan Younis, thousands of tents were transformed into shallow lakes overnight. Bedding, clothing, food supplies, and personal documents were ruined as water seeped through torn fabric and flooded the ground beneath. Many families spent the night standing or sitting on whatever dry surfaces they could find, trying to protect infants and the elderly from hypothermia as temperatures dropped sharply.
The Gaza Government Media Office had issued an early warning on Tuesday, forecasting a strong polar low-pressure system that would affect the entire Strip from Wednesday through Friday evening. Meteorologists predicted heavy rain, hail, thunderstorms, and strong winds — conditions that makeshift displacement camps, built on sandy or low-lying ground with no proper drainage, are completely unable to withstand.
The crisis highlights the severe shortage of adequate shelter. According to official Palestinian estimates, Gaza urgently requires at least 300,000 new tents and prefabricated housing units to meet minimum needs. Since the start of the war in October 2023, only a small fraction of that number has entered the territory, largely due to restrictions on the entry of construction materials and humanitarian supplies. Most families continue to live in tents that are now two years old, patched repeatedly with plastic sheeting and cloth, offering little protection against winter weather.
Health officials are particularly alarmed by the mixture of floodwater with raw sewage. More than 90 percent of Gaza’s wastewater and sanitation infrastructure was destroyed or severely damaged during the war, leaving open cesspits and broken pipes throughout displacement sites. Standing water now poses an immediate risk of waterborne diseases such as cholera, hepatitis A, and dysentery — threats made worse by widespread malnutrition and weakened immune systems among the population.
The United Nations estimates that rebuilding Gaza will cost approximately $70 billion, with more than 61 million tons of rubble — much of it containing unexploded ordnance — still covering the enclave. Gaza’s economy has shrunk by 87 percent since the war began, reducing per capita GDP to just $161 and erasing decades of development gains.
Despite the ceasefire that took effect on October 10, 2025, humanitarian access remains limited. Aid convoys continue to face lengthy inspections and delays at Israeli-controlled crossings, and the daily average of trucks entering Gaza falls far short of the 600 promised under the agreement. Fuel shortages have also hampered the operation of water pumps, generators, and emergency vehicles, making it nearly impossible to drain flooded areas or provide adequate heating.
In the face of these hardships, Palestinian communities have once again shown remarkable resilience. Neighbors shared whatever dry blankets and clothing they had left. Young volunteers formed human chains to pass buckets of water out of tents and clear pathways. In several camps, residents used pieces of broken furniture and metal sheets to create makeshift barriers against the rising water.
Local organizations and international aid agencies have called for immediate action: unrestricted access for humanitarian convoys, the rapid delivery of winterized tents, blankets, and plastic sheeting, and the urgent repair of sanitation systems before the next storm arrives. UNRWA and other agencies warn that thousands of tents damaged in previous rains are now beyond repair, leaving families with no alternative shelter as winter deepens.
As the rain finally began to ease late Thursday, families across Gaza started the exhausting process of salvaging what little they could from the floodwaters. Children helped wring out soaked mattresses, while parents hung clothing on tent ropes in the faint hope it might dry before nightfall. For the people of Gaza, the end of active combat has brought no end to suffering. The flooded tents now stand as a stark reminder that, without massive and sustained international support, the enclave’s most vulnerable citizens face a long, cold, and dangerous winter ahead.
