Heavy rain and strong winds affected Gaza from November 6 through the weekend, damaging shelters and disrupting services, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). By November 8, humanitarian partners had received appeals from more than 26,000 households reporting damage to shelters or belongings. OCHA said the total impact may be higher as assessments continue.

The new storm has sharpened a long-running shelter shortage as winter begins. OCHA estimated that about 1.4 million people in Gaza—roughly 65% of the population—were living in tents or makeshift shelters. The agency said existing humanitarian stocks of tents, tarpaulins, blankets and clothes inside Gaza were virtually exhausted.

Thousands of shelters destroyed or damaged

Preliminary Site Management Cluster figures cited by OCHA recorded about 268 weather-related alerts affecting more than 26,000 households by midnight on November 7. The same update reported that more than 6,000 family shelters had been destroyed and 17,400 damaged. Those figures remain subject to assessment and verification.

More than 3,900 households were reported to have no shelter at the time of the update. OCHA also said rain affected schools, health facilities, community kitchens and roads. Floodwater mixed with sewage in some areas, raising public-health concerns, while disruptions to roads delayed food deliveries and access to services.

Supplies are outside Gaza as needs rise

OCHA said more than 150,000 tents purchased by humanitarian partners and member states were outside Gaza and ready for dispatch. The agency said additional approvals, funding and equipment—including pumps and heavy machinery—were needed to bring supplies in and support drainage and shelter repairs. The gap between supplies waiting outside and limited stocks inside is central to the immediate winter response.

Reuters separately reported that rain washed a sand embankment onto tents near Deir al-Balah, underscoring the risks at displacement sites. The reported death toll from that collapse differed between accounts; OCHA’s broader update cited five deaths, while Reuters reported four. The casualty figures are not needed to understand the wider shelter damage and are stated here with that discrepancy made clear.

OCHA’s figures describe a fast-moving emergency and are preliminary, so totals may change as aid groups complete site assessments. See more World coverage from The Globuzz.

Sources

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Humanitarian Situation Report: Heavy Rains in the Gaza Strip (Nov. 8, 2026); Reuters dispatch, republished by Internazionale (Nov. 9, 2026).