As the first winter storm finally begins to ease, officials in Gaza warn that the devastation sweeping through displacement camps must end the illusion that tents can offer any meaningful protection. Days of heavy rainfall have overwhelmed thousands of shelters across the Strip, leaving families standing in cold water, their bedding ruined and their children exposed to biting winds. With more storms approaching, many fear that the situation will deteriorate long before winter reaches its peak.

Local authorities stressed that the widespread flooding has revealed the stark truth: the tents scattered across Gaza’s camps were never designed to shield people from winter. Residents described rainwater pouring through ripped fabric, pooling beneath their feet and turning entire camps into hazardous, muddy basins. Many of the structures, battered by sun, sand and months of repeated displacement, collapsed under the first intense downpour. Officials said the storm simply exposed conditions that were already unacceptable, fragile shelters, no insulation, no dry ground and no tools available to reinforce anything.

According to estimates shared by municipal teams, hundreds of thousands of people remain in desperate need of proper shelter, from reinforced tents to mobile housing units. The list of urgent necessities grows longer each day: waterproof coverings, safe heating equipment, insulated flooring, bedding, sanitation facilities, clean water systems and reliable sources of energy. Yet entry restrictions continue to prevent these supplies from reaching the enclave, leaving families to endure worsening conditions with little more than soaked canvas sheets.

Local leaders described the current landscape not as organised shelter but as a desperate struggle for survival. They said the humanitarian disaster now unfolding was entirely foreseeable, warning that pleas for preparation went unanswered for months. As the storms intensify, they argue that international action can no longer be delayed. Without immediate intervention and the entry of life-saving materials, the next round of winter rain may bring consequences far more severe than flooded tents.