Humanitarian Situation Report: Heavy Rains in the Gaza Strip | 8 November 2026

09 Nov 2026

A rescue team and other Palestinians next to what remains of a war-damaged building that collapsed when heavy rains hit Gaza city on 7 November 2026. Photo by OCHA

Key Highlights

Heavy rains hit the Gaza Strip from the evening of 6 November 2026 through the weekend, causing widespread flooding, the collapse of damaged buildings, damage to shelters, humanitarian facilities and learning spaces, and disruptions to essential services. An infant reportedly drowned and several people were reportedly killed when a sand dune collapsed on their tents.
Humanitarian partners mobilized immediately to assess people’s needs, distribute emergency supplies and otherwise support those affected. Nevertheless, humanitarian stocks of tents, tarpaulins, blankets and clothes inside Gaza are virtually exhausted.
By 8 November, humanitarian partners received appeals from over 26,000 households whose shelters or other belongings were damaged, with the overall impact believed to be greater. Partners have assessed the needs of 1,877 households, and provided support to 422 households, including with non-food items, at 29 displacement sites.
Over 150,000 tents purchased by humanitarian partners and Member States are outside Gaza ready to be dispatched. This includes about 117,000 tents from the Egyptian Relief Committee alone in Al-Arish.
Humanitarian funding and Israeli approvals are urgently needed so that enough supplies and machinery can be brought into Gaza, including vacuum trucks, mobile dewatering pumps, engine oil, hoses and heavy machinery.

Overview

Heavy rain and strong winds hit the Gaza Strip from 6 November through the weekend, causing floods affecting thousands of people. It damaged displacement sites, shelters and humanitarian facilities, and disrupted services across all five governorates. Most Palestinians in Gaza remain displaced, and an estimated 65 per cent live in tents or makeshift shelters – that is 1.4 million people. Following the start of the storm, humanitarian partners reported being overwhelmed by the high number of appeals for support.

According to the Site Management Cluster (SMC), since the beginning of the heavy rain until midnight 7 November, about 268 weather-related alerts had been recorded affecting over 26,000 households. An estimated 600 households are thought to have been displaced once again due to the storm. According to SMC, over 6,000 family shelters have reportedly been destroyed and 17,400 otherwise damaged. Additionally, 66 latrines have reportedly been destroyed and 618 damaged. SMC reported that over 3,900 households are reported to have no shelters currently. Site Management partners report that more than 20,000 households across 222 sites, severely affected by the heavy rain, need shelter and non-food items support (tarpaulins, shelter repair materials, bedding, tents and clothing). Beyond that, 26 sites need latrine rehabilitation, 32 need drainage and engineering support, 37 need lighting support and 156 need sandbagging support, and more than 10,000 households report needing cash assistance. These figures are preliminary and are subject to assessments and verification.

Mine Action partners highlighted the potential risks associated with flooding, as explosive ordnance may become exposed, buried under surface or debris, or displaced to previously unaffected areas. This creates additional dangers for civilians and humanitarian personnel, including those involved in debris removal.

The floods exacerbated existing structural and environmental risks, including unsafe buildings and unstable sandy areas with at least 4,000 high-risk buildings identified by partners so far. Three partial or full building collapses were reported, with no casualties. An infant reportedly drowned at a displacement site. At Al Berka Reservoir, west of Deir Al Balah, a sandy hill collapsed onto tents, killing five displaced people, including three children and two women, and injuring one, according to Civil Defense who responded to the incidents.

The Civil Defense reported on 7 November that dozens of displacement sites, tents, and even entire residential areas, were flooded, with water levels reaching 1.5 metres in some locations. Its emergency rooms received 2,166 distress calls, including from families whose homes were already damaged by hostilities. Rescue teams, working with municipalities and others, were able to respond to 218 calls, but given the volume of the calls, most callers were only provided with guidance. The Civil Defense calls for the entry of winter rescue equipment, machinery, plastic sheeting, tents, and prefabricated mobile shelters for displaced people. The Gaza Municipality received 251 incident notifications and 84 distress calls on 6 and 7 November, covering rainwater pooling and rising water levels in streets and displacement sites. It cited major challenges, including extensive damage to stormwater drainage networks and infrastructure, a shortage of pumping equipment and heavy machinery, and difficult access to some sites.

According to the WASH Cluster, shortages of vacuum trucks, mobile dewatering pumps, engine oil and hoses continue to limit the WASH response capacity. At Sheikh Radwan Lagoon, heavy water inflows are overwhelming pumping capacity, while stormwater mixed with sewage from damaged networks poses public health risks.

According to the Education Cluster, heavy rain and flooding affected at least 55 learning spaces serving about 55,000 children. Twenty of the learning spaces were damaged, with learning activities suspended. At the other affected spaces, attendance has fallen significantly, to as low as 3 per cent. Poor light and power supply challenges add to the disruption. Moreover, seven service points addressing gender-based violence were destroyed due to the heavy rain. One partner reported 200 affected families across two sites for persons with disabilities. Families with disabilities, women and girls, and unaccompanied children face heightened risk.

Due to the heavy rain, on 7 November, at least eight community kitchens temporarily cut production by 50 per cent (about 25,000 fewer meals). On 8 November, production returned to normal, with maintenance and assessments continuing at some. A kitchen in Gaza city producing about 1,000 meals daily closed on 7 November because of disrupted power supply and difficulty lighting cooking fires; it resumed operations on 8 November. Flooding, waterlogging and damage to already fragile roads delayed meal deliveries and food stock dispatch to kitchens, and some locations were hard to reach, putting partner staff at risk. The weather also worsened the condition of a partner’s vehicles, that already faced shortages of engine oil and spare parts, so 7,250 planned meals could not be delivered to 10 shelters on 7 November; deliveries were back to normal on 8 November, and other delayed distributions were completed as conditions improved. Some partners’ warehouses were affected, and agricultural land rehabilitation through cash-for-work was suspended because workers could not reach the sites.

Health facilities also suffered leaks and flooding. UK-Med facilities and Nasser Medical Complex had water entering several departments, and the basement of Patient’s Friends Benevolent Society Hospital housing the pediatric department, pharmacy and radiology, flooded. Two clinics (An Nakheel and Al Yasmin) were damaged by flooding and wind, and two medical points (At Tuffah and Bir 19) lost tents and roofing. Services were also disrupted. One Health Cluster partner suspended all sexual and reproductive health services, fixed and mobile, and another suspended its mobile clinics. A third partner suspended its seven mobile teams for a day before resuming. Médecins du Monde recorded a 54 per cent drop in consultations, as flooded roads delayed staff movement. Partners report more cold exposure, weather-related illness and psychosocial distress, and expect higher caseloads once attendance recovers. Existing medicine shortages (antipyretics, antibiotics, antiemetics, antidiarrheals) are worsening. Surveillance is being strengthened for acute watery diarrhea, respiratory infections, skin infections and acute jaundice syndrome.

The humanitarian community had spent months preparing for the rainy season, knowing that living conditions in Gaza leave hundreds of thousands of people highly vulnerable to severe weather. Many people are living in worn-out tents and makeshift shelters that provide little protection from heavy rain and strong winds, including many in low-lying areas prone to flooding. Others remain in damaged buildings at risk of collapse. As part of the preparedness efforts, more than 150,000 tents, 300,000 tarpaulins and 500,000 blankets were outside Gaza ready for dispatch. However, humanitarian efforts to prepare were constrained by Israeli restrictions on the entry of supplies and equipment and funding shortfalls, limiting the stocks available inside Gaza when the rains began. Israeli restrictions on Palestinian access to large parts of Gaza also leave people with fewer options to voluntarily relocate to safer areas less prone to flooding.

As of 8 November 2026, humanitarian partners need – as a matter of urgent priority – more Israeli approvals to bring into Gaza critical supplies including shelter items, engine oil, spare parts, and heavy machinery, and more funding.

Humanitarian response activities at a glance

7-8 November 2026 (unless otherwise specified)

Shelter: Partners distributed 12 tents, 1,864 mats, 474 mattresses, and 1,714 humanitarian-standard tarpaulins.

Site Management: Partners installed 50,000 sandbags to prevent displacement sites from being flooded; overall since September, they have installed more than 135,000 sandbags. Desludging of cesspits is under way by partners at displacement sites in Al-Mawasi (Khan Younis), with 30 per cent of the targeted sites completed. They also distributed winter clothes to 3,364 households, including 8,432 children, across 19 sites in Khan Younis and Deir Al Balah, and blankets to 896 households across six sites in Gaza city and North Gaza.

Debris Working Group: Partners used heavy machinery to support flooded shelter and displacement sites, responding to appeals from municipalities and partners. About 40 sites were reached on 7 November, and by 8 November the number of affected sites had grown to 200, with 30 sites supported by the UN, and 21 by bilateral committees. By 7 November, a bilateral committee had completed 18 emergency sand works at sites to improve ground conditions and reduce flood risk. Before the storm, debris partners had strengthened about 130 vulnerable sites through clearance, ground levelling, drainage improvements and access route stabilization, using over 100,000 tons of debris.

Health: A partner provided tarpaulins, clothes and one tent to 16 affected people, and another partner distributed tents and rain protection materials to 298 households and winter clothes to 2,100 people. A third partner mobilized emergency contractors and deployed backup vehicles so staff could reach all six primary health care centres, kept primary health care services running and delivered 849 consultations on 7 November. A fourth partner kept all 16 of its medical points and health centres open during the rains, and its mobile teams have resumed following a suspension due to the heavy rain.

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene: Partners are dewatering affected sites. Coastal Municipalities Water Utility crews are operating 15 dewatering pumps to remove rainwater from tents and have provided municipalities with mobile pumping units and additional vacuum trucks. About 25,000 sandbags were allocated to reinforce sites and protect shelters. UN partners cleared solid waste from stormwater inlets and drainage canals, unblocked sewage lines and stormwater drains, and used suction trucks to remove accumulated water mixed with sewage in 58 shelters. A cluster partner deployed machinery to 20 sites and distributed hygiene kits, while others provided sand, sandbags and essential repair tools, and cleared sediment and debris from 10 critical locations and rehabilitated roads at four sites using crushed sand and gravel.

Protection: One partner provided tarpaulins, clothed and one tent to 16 families in Nuseirat (Deir al Balah). Teams assessed and responded to the needs of at least 350 families with persons with disabilities at an inclusive site in Az Zawaida (Deir Al Balah). One partner helped families voluntarily relocate away from the shoreline, and another began shelter and sanitation repairs at Hayat displacement site. A partner working with persons with disabilities reported 200 affected families across two camps, and 66 families in Az Zawaida received emergency shelter kits. Before the storm, partners managing shelters for vulnerable groups had reinforced tents, improved drainage, raised ground levels and distributed winter clothing. At a site for women with cancer in Gaza city (65 households), 57 new tents, additional tarpaulins and 1,409 winter clothing items were distributed.

Addressing Gender-Based Violence: Three partners distributed their remaining stocks of tarpaulins, clothing, and tents. One partner distributed 40 tents. Another distributed 764 dignity kits over two days across Gaza and Deir Al Balah governorate. A third provided tents to families in Deir Al Balah and Gaza city and assisted three beneficiaries in North Gaza. A UN agency and another partner delivered 1,200 menstrual hygiene management kits and 200 dignity kits to the Joint Response Mechanism. One partner opened an emergency safe space for women and girls at its office to keep mental health and psychosocial support and case management going, and the Jabalya safe space was repaired after wind damage and reopened.

** Double asterisks indicate that a figure, sentence, or section has been rectified, added, or retracted after the initial publication of this update.