Toronto, 9 November 2026 – Rescue teams were searching for two people missing in Gaza on Monday after weekend flooding destroyed 70,000 tents and a sandbank collapsed killing four children, with concerns of more landslides, said Save the Children, describing the disaster as “man-made”.
About 70,000 tents housing sheltering an estimated 350,000 Palestinian people - including 210,000 children [1] – were flooded across Gaza following 12 hours of torrential rain, while more than 2,000 damaged, cracked, and structurally unsound buildings are at risk of collapse amid continued rainfall and strong winds.
The cold, wet conditions and water-logged tents and shelters are exposing children to hypothermia and water-borne diseases with the flooding damaging what little warm belongings people have.
Save the Children is distributing emergency cash to families impacted by the flooding to help them recover and rebuild while preparing for the next wave of rain. However, Israel's restrictions on aid, shelter, and reconstruction materials entering Gaza leave families with few ways to protect themselves from the storms ahead.
These deaths could have been prevented if the Israeli authorities had allowed the entry of the desperately needed humanitarian aid into Gaza, including adequate shelter materials and equipment, Save the Children said.
Ahmad Alhendawi, Regional Director for the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe at Save the Children International, said:
"Four children who should have been safe and warm with their families instead lost their lives in an entirely preventable way. Their deaths are a heartbreaking reminder that for children in Gaza, even bad weather can become deadly.
"Rain did not kill these children. They were killed by man-made conditions created by the Israeli authorities, forcing families to live in unsafe, inadequate shelters with nowhere else to go. Humanitarian organisations have repeatedly warned that without sufficient shelter materials and winter supplies, children would be put at risk. Those warnings are now being borne out in the most devastating way possible.
"The international community cannot allow more children to die in disasters that are entirely foreseeable. It must use its influence to ensure the Israeli authorities immediately allow the entry of tents, caravans, shelter materials and other essential humanitarian aid so no more families have to bury their children because of a storm".
Due to the Israeli army’s control of approximately 70% of Gaza, much of population is forced to live in areas ill-equipped to handle rainfall. Many families have had no choice but to set up shelter on unstable ground. In Deir al-Balah, this meant families sheltering beneath a sandbank that gave way onto their tents. The floods have also disrupted children's education, affecting at least 55 learning spaces serving about 55,000 children across Gaza.
Save the Children has worked in the occupied Palestinian territory since 1953, with a permanent presence since 1973. We work with partners to provide healthcare and nutrition services, quality education, child protection, early childhood development support, cash assistance, and other essential humanitarian aid.
ENDS
[1] About 70,000 tents were flooded in the Gaza Strip within 12 hours of the first winter storm of the season, according to Gaza’s Government Media Office. These tents contain on average 5 people, including two adults and three children – thus 350,000 people, including 210,000 children
