Gaza Runs Out of Tents as 150,000 Wait at the Gate

More than 150,000 tents are waiting outside Gaza for dispatch, the UN says, as families face winter in damaged shelters and aid officials press Israel to approve their entry. ^[1][2]

About 117,000 of those tents are in Al-Arish, Egypt, supplied by the Egyptian Relief Committee, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, known as OCHA. Humanitarian partners and member states have already bought the tents waiting outside the territory. ^[2]

UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq said Israeli authorities needed to grant permission for the tents to pass through checkpoints. Access to crossings and the speed of procedures would then determine how quickly supplies could reach people. ^[1][4]

The demand is immense. About 1.4 million people, or 65 per cent of Gaza's population, live in tents or makeshift shelters, according to OCHA. Stocks of tents, tarpaulins, blankets and clothing inside Gaza were virtually exhausted after heavy rain flooded shelters and damaged belongings. ^[2][4]

UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said on November 11 that foreign ministers and partners had previously told him progress would be difficult until after Israel's elections. Now, he said, he was being told to wait for a government to form. He called that "not an acceptable excuse" and urged Israel to open all crossings. ^[3][6]

Israel says substantial aid and winter supplies have entered Gaza, and that restrictions on some equipment reflect concerns about military use. OCHA identifies both Israeli entry restrictions and funding shortfalls as constraints on winter preparations. ^[2][5]

Shelter bought, permission pending

The stockpile outside Gaza means aid organisations have secured a large supply of tents. Getting them to families still requires approvals, transport and passage through crossing procedures. OCHA said additional Israeli permissions and funding were urgently needed. ^[1][2]

It is not yet known how many of the waiting tents have since been approved, crossed into Gaza or reached families, or how much of the delay comes from each restriction, funding gap or transport procedure. The total waiting outside cannot therefore be attributed to a single cause. ^[1][2]

Fletcher's appeal extends well beyond tents. He requested durable shelter, warm clothing, blankets, bedding and safe heating, along with generators, fuel and the equipment needed to pump out water, remove debris and clear explosive ordnance. ^[3]

Those supplies address different stages of the same emergency. A replacement shelter provides somewhere to sleep. Pumps and machinery are needed to drain flooded areas and make damaged sites usable, while fuel, engine oil and spare parts keep that equipment working. OCHA reported shortages across those categories. ^[2][3]

The Norwegian Refugee Council described a tightly constrained route for some supplies in October. According to the aid organisation, Israeli authorities allowed 15 trucks a week carrying goods they designated as having both civilian and military uses to enter from Jordan. Those goods could be unloaded only at Kerem Shalom, one day a week.

That was NRC's account of the arrangements then, rather than a verified current entry rate. ^[7]

Rain has exhausted the reserves

Heavy rain beginning on November 6 and continuing through the weekend caused widespread flooding, damaged shelters and disrupted services, according to OCHA's situation report covering conditions through November 8. Aid partners had received appeals from more than 26,000 households whose shelters or belongings had been damaged. ^[2]

More than 6,000 family shelters were reportedly destroyed and 17,400 damaged. OCHA described those figures as preliminary and subject to assessment and verification. ^[2][4]

The Daily Inference reported on November 7 that rain and wind were battering makeshift shelters as rescuers tried to reach a person beneath a collapsed roof in Gaza City. The emergency followed UN warnings of widespread flood exposure and a severe shortage of shelter supplies.

Floodwater has also worsened sanitation problems. At Sheikh Radwan Lagoon, stormwater mixed with sewage was posing public-health risks, OCHA said. Shortages of pumps, vacuum trucks, engine oil and hoses limited the response. ^[2]

Shelter pressure now overlaps with reduced food support. The Daily Inference reported on October 19 that funding shortages were forcing the World Food Programme to serve fewer people and shrink support for others, with about two-thirds of Gaza's population still facing acute food insecurity.

Israel cites military-use concerns

Cogat, the Israeli military agency responsible for coordinating aid access, said it had allowed tens of thousands of tents and trucks carrying winter supplies into Gaza. An Israeli foreign ministry spokeswoman said the country's winter plan was coordinated with the Board of Peace, a body helping coordinate winter aid, and charities. ^[5]

Cogat said it would not allow equipment it considers usable for military purposes. Israel's prime minister's office said Hamas could use "every dual-use item" to strengthen its military capabilities. Hamas rejected the Board of Peace's account of the disaster and said Israeli restrictions had prevented materials needed for shelter and recovery from entering. ^[5][6]

The Board of Peace also urged Israel to admit essential supplies for temporary shelter and water and sanitation infrastructure. It said delays in approving supplies had "exacerbated the consequences of a foreseeable humanitarian challenge." ^[5][6]