Storms flood Gaza tents, coastal Israel

Heavy rain lashed the Eastern Mediterranean coast Friday night, turning temporary shelters in the Gaza Strip into waterlogged shelters and disrupting power grids along Israel's coastline. The weather system brought intense downpours that overwhelmed drainage systems and flooded residential areas from Binyamina to Tel Aviv.

In Gaza, more than 70,000 tents were submerged by the water. The Hamas-run civil defense agency logged 1,500 distress calls from residents trapped in the flooded camps. While no deaths were reported, the storm injured several displaced people. The agency also confirmed that three abandoned houses collapsed, though those specific structures did not cause injuries.

Olfat Magdoub, a resident of Gaza City, described the urgency of the situation as water rushed into her camp on the first day of rain. She expressed concern that the severity of the initial downpour signaled what might come later in the season. Nearby, families scrambled to move children out of soaked shelters and used sand to reinforce the bases of their tents.

Um Muhammad al-Hersh, 45, recounted a similar experience from a previous winter when her family slept on blankets on the floor for four days because their bedding was ruined. She explained that they could not save their mattresses or clothes, forcing them to repeat the cycle of sleeping on the ground. For many displaced families in the enclave, this hardship is a recurring feature of the winter months.

In Deir al-Balah, Maryam Odeh, 34, said she felt anxious about where her children would sleep safely during the storm. Khaled al-Najjar, 41, added that residents feared the cold as much as the water, citing the potential for disease spread in the crowded camps. A coalition of Palestinian civil society organizations warned that the conditions threatened hundreds of thousands of residents and called for increased pressure on Israel to allow unrestricted humanitarian aid.

Hamas officials said fuel shortages and damaged equipment limited their ability to pump water out of the camps. They claimed Israel destroyed hundreds of vehicles, including bulldozers and water pumps, during the conflict and has restricted the entry of new construction equipment. Israel has stated that major reconstruction will not begin until Hamas agrees to disarm and relinquish control of the enclave.

Mustafa Qazzaat, a member of the Gaza City council, said no prefabricated homes have entered Gaza since the truce was announced. He stated the territory needs 200,000 such homes, along with heavy machinery to clear rubble and restore electricity and heating. COGAT, the Israeli Defense Ministry agency coordinating aid, said it stepped up efforts to improve sanitary conditions in coordination with international organizations before the rain arrived.

In Israel, the Meteorological Service reported heavy rains across the coastal region. Binyamina received about 50 millimeters of rain within an hour on Saturday morning, causing local floods. Residents in Gan Yavne experienced power outages for most of Saturday after the electric grid was damaged late Friday night. Tel Aviv recorded 40 millimeters of rain, while Haifa received 31 millimeters and Jerusalem 28 millimeters.

Authorities warned of a heightened risk of flooding in central and coastal Israel, particularly in flash flood zones near rivers. Police briefly closed Route 90 near the Dead Sea on Saturday morning but reopened it after the storm passed. The Health Ministry advised residents to avoid swimming in the Mediterranean due to potential sewage runoff from the heavy rainfall.