The head of the Gaza Government Media Office, Ismail Al-Thawabta, has revealed the scale of the rapidly worsening humanitarian disaster inside displacement camps, where tens of thousands of tents have been destroyed by successive winter storms and the absence of basic infrastructure, according to the Palestinian Information Center.
In a statement, Al-Thawabta said more than 22,000 tents have been completely damaged, including tarps, insulation materials, and blankets.
The previous storm alone submerged tens of thousands of tents, turning large areas of the camps into pools of water and mud.
He noted that nearly 1.5 million displaced people are enduring harsh living conditions inside the camps, while hundreds of thousands of families are sheltering in worn-out tents already compromised by both the genocide and recent severe weather.
Emergency shelter sites, he added, have suffered widespread collapse, with temporary water networks failing after mixing with rainwater. This contamination increased health risks, halted 10 mobile medical points, and led to the loss of essential medical supplies. Healthcare teams have also struggled to access large sections of the camps due to flooding and unsafe terrain.
Al-Thawabta stressed that displaced families lack the bare minimum needed for survival, living without protection from freezing temperatures, strong winds, and continuous rain.
He warned that the humanitarian situation requires urgent intervention to provide adequate shelter and prevent an even larger catastrophe.
Gaza, he added, urgently needs 300,000 new tents, yet only 20,000 tents have entered the Strip since the start of the crisis.
For the second night in a row, heavy rain has flooded displacement camps as a deep low-pressure system continues into Friday evening, bringing cold temperatures and intensifying the suffering of residents and the displaced.
According to earlier statements by Civil Defense, nearly 250,000 families in Gaza are living in displacement camps, battling severe cold and flooding inside deteriorated shelters.
The media office previously estimated that by late September, 93 percent of tents in Gaza were no longer suitable for habitation, about 125,000 tents out of 135,000.
