Gaza's winter floods expose the deadly consequences of Israel's restrictions on aid

Heavy rain and high winds over the weekend flooded tens of thousands of tents across Gaza. Families already living in desperate conditions saw shelters destroyed, belongings washed away, and access to healthcare further disrupted, while emergency responders struggled to reach those in need amid fuel shortages and damaged equipment. An estimated 65% of Gaza's population is living in tents or makeshift shelters, while approximately 950,000 people are living in areas at medium or high risk of flooding. Almost the entire population needs shelter and other humanitarian assistance. 

Despite the immense levels of humanitarian need, and the legal obligation to facilitate aid entry, Israeli authorities continue to restrict the entry of shelter supplies, medication and equipment into Gaza. Israel’s direct military control of around 70% of Gaza also leaves Palestinians with few options to shelter in areas safer and less prone to flooding, while Israeli military attacks continue on a daily basis.

MAP's own medical services have been disrupted. Floodwater, poor road conditions, and a lack of heavy machinery – blocked or restricted under Israel’s “dual use” policy – to clear flooded roads meant that patients struggled to reach its Solidarity Polyclinic in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, where tens of thousands of forcibly displaced people are living in encampments. Four members of MAP’s medical team were also unable to get to work because their own shelters had flooded.

Mai Elawawda, MAP's Communications Officer in Gaza, said: "What we are seeing here is catastrophic. This is the fourth winter that Palestinians in Gaza have been forced to endure in makeshift tents, and the second since the so-called "ceasefire". Families are once again watching floodwater sweep through displacement camps while having nowhere else to go and very few options to protect themselves. Our medical teams expect to see more respiratory illnesses and other health complications linked to cold, damp and overcrowded conditions, and we fear more children could die from hypothermia, as happened last winter."

"The flooding has also affected our own colleagues, with some finding their shelters and belongings damaged. Medical teams are working through severe weather and flooded roads to continue providing care, but access to healthcare is becoming even harder. We are approaching yet another winter and yet another long season of manmade hardship and suffering."

Deaths have already resulted from the flooding, including three children and a woman who were killed by a sand embankment collapsing onto people’s tents, whilst another infant has reportedly drowned. Health services have been disrupted with many facilities supported by MAP impacted by water flooding departments, including Nasser Hospital and the Patient’s Friends Benevolent Society Hospital.

Rohan Talbot, MAP’s Director of Advocacy, Campaigns and Communications, said: " At its heart this is not a humanitarian crisis, but a crisis of impunity. The unthinkable suffering caused by this flooding is a predictable consequence of the collective punishment of Gaza’s population by Israel, which continues to obstruct the entry of humanitarian aid, shelter materials, reconstruction supplies and essential equipment. Palestinians have been betrayed by the false promises of the Board of Peace to bring aid, security and reconstruction to Gaza. Instead, a year on, millions of people instead remain trapped in makeshift tents, exposed to the elements, because the materials needed to rebuild homes, roads, water systems and health services are still not reaching them.

“The UK Government has created new powers to impose sanctions on those responsible for obstructing aid and serious violations of international humanitarian law. What is happening in Gaza shows exactly why urgent action is needed to puncture impunity, ensure international humanitarian law is upheld, and ensure the rapid and unobstructed entry of aid.”

MAP is calling on world leaders and the UK Government to move beyond statements of concern and take concrete action to protect Palestinian civilians.

• Take urgent and concrete action to ensure humanitarian aid, shelter and reconstruction materials and medical supplies can enter Gaza without obstruction. 
• Enforce a permanent ceasefire and an end to Israel’s genocide in Gaza.  
• Support international accountability mechanisms, including the International Criminal Court, to investigate attacks on healthcare and other serious violations of international law
• Suspend all arms sales to Israel immediately, including components for F-35 fighter jets, and end all military cooperation.

[ENDS]

MAP spokespeople are available for interview on request. Please contact the press office to arrange at: [email protected] or +44 (0)20 3869 1310

Notes to editors

• Most of Gaza’s 2.1 million population remained forcibly displaced and 1.98 million people (94% of the population) are estimated to need shelter and NFI assistance. (UNOCHA)
• 1.2 million people are facing critical or catastrophic shelter conditions . (UNOCHA)
• 65% of Gaza’s population is living in tents and makeshift shelters.(UNOCHA)
• An estimated 950,000 people are living in sites at medium or high risk of flooding. (UNOCHA)
•  Israeli authorities restrict Palestinians to around 35% of Gaza. (UN OCHA) 
• Last winter, at least 11 children reportedly died from hypothermia-related causes (UNICEF)
• Before the deregistration of 37 aid organisations by Israeli authorities in December 2025, international NGOs implemented 74% of all shelter and non-food item activities in Gaza (UN)

Additional testimony from MAP's medical teams in Gaza:

Maram AlShurafa, MAP’s Medical Programme Officer in Gaza, (7 November):

"This is the third winter that displaced families in Gaza area have had to face in makeshift shelters, with little meaningful change to their living conditions. As the first heavy rain of this winter fell, the same scenes we had witnessed over the past two winters returned. Rain continued throughout the night, flooding makeshift shelters and leaving roads and streets covered in water and difficult to walk through. For the people living here, the arrival of winter brings further hardship to an already difficult daily reality.

“The impact was also felt at our Solidarity polyclinic in Deir Al Balah, where we continue to provide healthcare to displaced people in the area. Four members of the medical team could not make it to work because their own shelters had flooded. The bus bringing some of the staff from areas further away was also delayed because of the poor road conditions and the difficulty of getting around.

“The road leading to the polyclinic in Deir AlBalah was almost completely blocked by floodwater, forcing patients to take longer and more difficult routes to reach us. It is difficult to see people having to struggle just to access the healthcare they need, especially when they are already dealing with such difficult living conditions.

"Despite these difficulties, at least 200 patients came to the polyclinic today. This was not surprising. We know how much people need healthcare, and many have little choice but to make the journey to seek it, whatever the difficulties along the way."

“One person I met today was a father who had brought his five-year-old son to the polyclinic. The child had visited us last Wednesday and, after being examined by the doctor, was referred to hospital for further care. After being discharged from hospital earlier today, his father brought him back to collect the prescribed medication. When I asked how he had managed to reach us, he explained that he had taken a longer route. He said he did not want the difficult journey to stop him from bringing his son to get the treatment he needed, or leave him feeling that he had let his child down.”

“His experience reflects the difficulties people face in trying to access even the most basic needs. During winter, we see more cases of influenza, skin conditions, and other illnesses linked to the cold, damp and poor living conditions. Yet, just as people’s need for healthcare grows, reaching it becomes more difficult.”

"At the polyclinic, we work with the resources available to us, but there are needs we cannot meet because some essential supplies, equipment and other resources are not available. The difficulties people face go well beyond access to healthcare. Addressing them requires a wider collective response, including opening the crossings and allowing essential equipment and materials into Gaza. This is needed not only to support healthcare services, but also to improve roads and living conditions that directly affect people’s health and daily lives.

"There is a long winter ahead, and the coming months will bring further difficulties. What is particularly painful is that this is the third winter people have had to endure these same conditions, still living in makeshift shelters that offer little protection from the rain and cold, with no real improvement in their circumstances.

"We know there is much we cannot change or provide on our own. But people should not be left without support because the conditions around them make it difficult to reach it. Our polyclinic will remain open to those who need care, and we will provide what we can with the resources available. Above all, people need to be able to live in safe and dignified conditions, without having to face another winter in flooded shelters or struggle through waterlogged roads to reach the services they need."

Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) works for a future where every Palestinian has access to a comprehensive, effective and locally-led system of healthcare, and the full realisation of their rights to health and dignity. We have worked for more than 40 years in the occupied Palestinian territory and in Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon.