The United Nations sounded an urgent alarm on Tuesday as heavy rains swept across the Gaza Strip, flooding displacement camps, submerging tents, and triggering a new wave of misery for families already enduring one of the world’s gravest humanitarian crises.

During the daily press briefing, Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, relayed new data from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), showing that torrential rains have soaked people’s belongings, destroyed makeshift shelters, and heightened the risk of hypothermia among infants. Overflowing sewage systems have also led to a spike in water-borne diseases.

According to flood-risk analyses, more than 760 displacement sites, sheltering an estimated 850,000 people — roughly 40% of Gaza’s population — are now at highest risk.

To confront the rapidly deteriorating conditions, UN teams and partner NGOs launched a coordinated rapid-response mechanism to handle flooding alerts across Gaza. As of Tuesday morning alone, responders had processed more than 160 flood alerts, carrying out assessments for over 16,000 displaced families — figures expected to rise as updates trickle in from emergency teams on the ground.

Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), described the situation as “another layer of misery” imposed on people who “had already lost everything”. Posting on social media, Lazzarini emphasized that many UNRWA staff assisting the population are themselves displaced. They continue pumping sewage and floodwater, clearing garbage, distributing essential supplies, and providing medical care under extreme constraints.

In anticipation of the winter storm, the UN and humanitarian partners had already increased cold-weather support, especially for families in shoreline areas most vulnerable to flooding. Teams distributed empty flour sacks to be used as sandbags, while contractors equipped with heavy machinery were placed on standby.

Over the past week, the UN has intensified relief deliveries, including tents, tarps, and an expanded distribution of winter clothing for children, rising from 5,000 to 8,000 kits per day. Water and sanitation teams have been working to unblock stormwater channels and reinforce pre-positioned pumps in low-lying zones.

Despite these efforts, OCHA warned that the scale of needs far outpaces current capacity and stressed that humanitarian restrictions must be lifted. The office reiterated the urgent necessity of ending the ban on most international NGOs and on UNRWA, organizations that continue providing lifesaving aid despite severe operational limitations.

“To further scale up the response, we urgently need more crossings, more routes, and approval for a wider range of relief items to enter Gaza,” OCHA said.