Source: Amnesty International –
The devastation caused by torrential rain in the occupied Gaza Strip that led to the recent flooding of thousands of tents and makeshift shelters and caused buildings to collapse was fueled by Israel’s ongoing restrictions on the entry of critical supplies to repair vital infrastructure, said Amnesty International today.
Over two months after the ceasefire, and despite multiple binding orders from the International Court of Justice and its October 2025 advisory opinion on the obligations of Israel as an occupying power to ensure access to essential supplies and facilitate the work of UNRWA and other UN agencies, and the recent UN General Assembly resolution reaffirming that advisory opinion and calling on Israel to comply with its legal obligations regarding humanitarian assistance in Gaza, Israel has only allowed extremely limited supplies to reach a population that lacks almost everything and is living in extreme deprivation and amidst complete destruction. This is further indication that Israeli authorities are continuing to deliberately inflict on Palestinians in Gaza conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction, an act prohibited under the Genocide Convention.
“The writing was on the wall; this was no accident, it was an utterly preventable tragedy. The devastating scenes of flooded tents and collapsed buildings in Gaza that have emerged in recent days cannot be blamed solely on ‘bad weather’. They are the foreseeable consequences of Israel’s ongoing genocide and deliberate policy of blocking the entry of shelter and repair materials for the displaced,” said Erika Guevara Rosas, Amnesty International’s Senior Director for Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns.
“The deadly storms in recent days have inflicted further misery on an already traumatized population and compounded the suffering of Palestinians still reeling from two years of relentless bombardment and forced displacement. The knowledge that the extent of this disaster could have been prevented had Israeli authorities allowed the entry of shelter and other materials essential for repairing life-sustaining infrastructure is deeply distressing. Israel must immediately lift its cruel blockade on Gaza and ensure unfettered access for essential goods, repair materials and humanitarian supplies.”
After multiple displacements, destruction of or damage to at least 81% of structures and designation of nearly 58% of Gaza’s total area as no-go zones, the overwhelming majority of Palestinians are now living in dilapidated tents or damaged shelters with overflowing sewage and flood waters, exposed to the cold and heavy winds, with no adequate medical care or necessary materials to endure the winter.
“I still cannot digest the thought that we survived the bombardment only for my children to be crushed as a result of the storm.”
Mohammed Nassar, Father of Lina and Ghazi who died after their severely damaged home collapsed
Amnesty International visited three sites of three damaged buildings that collapsed following the last week’s storms in in Bir al-Naaja, Jabalia refugee camp; Al-Rimal, Gaza City; and Sheikh Radwan, Gaza City and spoke to family members whose loved ones died as a result of collapsing buildings. A total of nine people were crushed to death when the three buildings collapsed on 12 December. According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, a 10th victim had also died a day earlier from a collapsed building in al-Shati refugee camp. The organization also spoke to seven displaced people living in makeshift camps across Gaza City, bracing themselves for another week of storms and flooding.