Humanitarian groups urge rapid delivery of winter aid to Gaza amid flooding
UN agencies and NGOs called on Israeli authorities to speed up the entry of tents, clothing and equipment needed for winter as recent rains caused extensive damage in Gaza.
The Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) for the Occupied Palestinian Territory said the recent rainstorm in Gaza caused deaths, disrupted essential services and damaged thousands of family shelters. The team, which includes heads of UN agencies and local and international NGOs, warned that the impact could have been avoided and attributed the severity to policy decisions.
In a statement, the HCT outlined a pre-winter plan that calls for the delivery of tents, warm clothing, blankets, water-pumping equipment, debris-removal tools and explosive-ordnance clearance gear. The plan also stresses the need for sufficient funding, faster clearance procedures and access to higher-ground locations.
The statement emphasized Israel’s responsibility as the occupying power to ensure basic needs are met, noting that “Israeli policies continue to obstruct the entry of critical items as well as access to most of Gaza’s land, including areas away from the shoreline that are less prone to flooding.” It added that supplies face “multiple approval requirements, limited crossing capacity and unpredictable or narrow delivery windows.”
More than 150,000 tents are reportedly waiting outside Gaza, while ongoing rainstorms continue to destroy existing shelters. The HCT warned that winter will last for months and that shelter must not be tied to political progress. It urged Israeli authorities to lift restrictions, allow all humanitarian partners to operate, and enable repairs to water and wastewater networks.
The group also appealed to Member States to use diplomatic influence to accelerate these steps and to provide the needed humanitarian funding without delay, stressing that “lives are at stake.”