Gaza Humanitarian Crisis Deepens as Winter Storm Floods Refugee Tent Camps Amid Aid Delivery Failures

Winter storm Byron has descended upon Gaza, with torrential rains drenching tent camps and plummeting temperatures afflicting Palestinians sheltering within them. This harsh weather underscores how two months of ceasefire have failed to adequately address the worsening humanitarian crisis in the war-ravaged territory.

Displaced families discovered their possessions and food supplies completely soaked inside their makeshift shelters. Children waded through opaque brown floodwater that submerged their sandaled feet and reached knee-height in certain areas. The deluge transformed dirt roads into mud while garbage and sewage flowed like waterfalls through the camps.

"We have been drowned. I don't have clothes to wear and we have no mattresses left," lamented Um Salman Abu Qenas, a displaced mother in a Khan Younis tent camp, explaining that her family couldn't sleep due to water inundating their tent.

Humanitarian organizations report insufficient shelter materials entering Gaza during the truce. Recent figures from Israel's military suggest it hasn't fulfilled the ceasefire requirement of permitting 600 aid trucks daily into Gaza, though Israeli authorities contest this conclusion.

"Cold, overcrowded, and unsanitary environments heighten the risk of illness and infection," UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, posted on X. "This suffering could be prevented by unhindered humanitarian aid, including medical support and proper shelter."

Sabreen Qudeeh, also residing in the Khan Younis camp in the squalid Muwasi area, recounted how her family awoke to rain leaking through their tent's ceiling while water from the street saturated their mattresses. "My little daughters were screaming," she described.

Ahmad Abu Taha, another camp resident, stated that not a single tent escaped flooding. "Conditions are very bad, we have old people, displaced, and sick people inside this camp," he explained.

Meanwhile, floods in south-central Israel trapped more than a dozen people in their vehicles, according to Hebrew media reports. Israel's rescue service MDA reported two young girls suffered minor injuries when a tree fell on their school.

The stark contrast with Gaza's situation demonstrates how severely the Israel-Hamas war has devastated the territory, destroying most homes. Gaza's approximately 2 million residents are almost entirely displaced, with the majority living in vast coastal tent settlements or among damaged building ruins without proper flood infrastructure and with makeshift cesspits near tents serving as toilets.

Palestinian Civil Defense reported at least three buildings in Gaza City, previously damaged by Israeli bombardment, partially collapsed under the rainfall. The agency warned people against remaining inside damaged structures that could collapse on them.

Since the storm began, Civil Defense has received over 2,500 distress calls from Gazans whose tents and shelters suffered damage. Palestinians laboriously used buckets and mops to remove water from their tents.

Aliaa Bahtiti described how her 8-year-old son "was soaked overnight, and in the morning he had turned blue, sleeping on water." Her tent floor was covered by an inch of water. "We cannot buy food, covers, towels, or sheets to sleep on."

Baraka Bhar cared for her 3-month-old twins inside her tent as rain poured outside. One twin suffers from hydrocephalus, a build-up of fluids in the brain. "Our tents are worn out... and they leak rain water," she said. "We should not lose our children this winter."

Aid organizations claim Israel isn't allowing sufficient aid into Gaza to begin rebuilding the territory after years of conflict. Under the agreement, Israel committed to complying with aid provisions from a January truce, specifying 600 aid trucks daily entering Gaza. While Israel maintains compliance, Associated Press analysis questions this assertion based on Israel's own figures.

The January truce also specified Israel would permit caravans and tents to enter Gaza. Tania Hary, executive director of Gisha, an Israeli group advocating for Palestinians' freedom of movement, confirms no caravans have entered Gaza during the ceasefire.

COGAT, the Israeli military body coordinating Gaza aid, stated on December 9 it had "lately" permitted 260,000 tents and tarpaulins into Gaza along with over 1,500 trucks carrying blankets and warm clothing.

Shelter Cluster, an international aid coalition led by the Norwegian Refugee Council, reports lower figures. It states that UN and international NGOs have brought 15,590 tents into Gaza since the truce began, with approximately 48,000 sent by other countries. Many tents lack proper insulation, according to the organization.

Amjad al-Shawa, Gaza chief of the Palestinian NGO Network, told Al Jazeera on Thursday that only a fraction of the 300,000 required tents had entered Gaza. He emphasized Palestinians' urgent need for warmer winter clothing and accused Israel of blocking water pumps needed to clear flooded shelters.

"All international sides should take the responsibility regarding conditions in Gaza," he stated. "There is real danger for people in Gaza at all levels."

Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal said in an Al Jazeera interview that Gaza needs hospital rehabilitation, heavy machinery for rubble removal, and the reopening of the Rafah crossing, which remains closed despite Israel's announcement last week of its imminent opening.

COGAT did not immediately respond to inquiries about claims that Israel was preventing water pumps or heavy machinery from entering Gaza.

In a 173-page report released Thursday, Amnesty International stated that Hamas and other militant groups committed crimes against humanity during the October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel that triggered the Gaza war. The organization cited widespread and systematic civilian killings, torture, hostage-taking, and sexual abuse.

During the attack, Hamas fighters and other militants rampaged through southern Israel, killing approximately 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostages. Israel's subsequent Gaza campaign has killed over 70,300 Palestinians, roughly half being women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which doesn't differentiate between militants and civilians. Last year, Amnesty accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, which Israel denied.

Amnesty conducted interviews with 70 individuals, including 17 attack survivors and family members of victims. The organization also examined hundreds of open-source videos and photos from the attack day. Contrary to Hamas claims of targeting military installations, Amnesty determined the attack was intentionally "directed against a civilian population" and constituted crimes against humanity under international law.

The report confirmed sexual assaults occurred, though it couldn't determine their "scope or scale." Amnesty interviewed one man who testified to being raped by armed men at the Nova music festival, and a therapist who provided intensive treatment to three other rape survivors.

Hamas condemned the report, claiming it "echoed false claims" by Israel. Israeli Foreign Minister spokesperson Oren Marmorstein criticized the report on X, stating it took over two years for Amnesty to address the attack "and even now its report falls far short of reflecting the full scope of Hamas's horrific atrocities."