Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has denied responsibility for the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza after severe flooding devastated refugee camps.
Torrential rains have battered the Palestinian enclave in recent days, flooding and damaging thousands of tents housing people displaced by the devastating Israel-Hamas war that erupted in October 2023. Around 65% of Gaza’s population, or 1.4 million people, live in tents or makeshift shelters, according to the UN.
More than 150,000 tents purchased by humanitarian organizations and UN member states are ready to be delivered to Gaza, the international body said on Monday, calling for “the urgent lifting of all unnecessary restrictions and delays.”
The Board of Peace, a body created by US President Donald Trump to oversee Gaza’s postwar reconstruction and governance, issued its own statement describing Israel’s response as “insufficient.”
The board urged Israel to “act immediately to authorize and facilitate the entry of all necessary winterization and humanitarian supplies.”
UNICEF, the UN children’s agency, has also accused Israel of blocking a $3 million project to repair Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan stormwater basin, warning that sewage-contaminated floodwaters could inundate residential areas and endanger displaced families.
Netanyahu’s office blamed Hamas for the delays. “Israel is working in close cooperation with the United States and the Board of Peace,” it stated on Tuesday, reaffirming its commitment to Trump’s 20-point peace plan for Gaza.
“Hamas steals from Gazans to arm itself, systematically diverting humanitarian aid to military infrastructure while the United Nations and UNRWA turn a blind eye,” the statement read, referring to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.
“To date, Hamas has not surrendered a single weapon, and it continues to hold the people of Gaza hostage to its terrorist rule,” Netanyahu’s office said.
While the Board of Peace also accused Hamas of failing to fulfill its commitments, it maintained that Israeli restrictions on humanitarian deliveries had “significantly delayed” the decommissioning of weapons and the transfer of power in Gaza from Hamas to a technocratic Palestinian administration.
Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza following a Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, which killed around 1,200 people in Israel and saw 251 others taken hostage. More than 75,000 Palestinians have since been killed across the occupied Palestinian territories, including at least 21,500 children, according to a UN Commission of Inquiry.
In a report released last month, the commission concluded that Israel had continued committing “genocidal acts” in Gaza despite the October 2025 ceasefire, with Israeli attacks killing another 1,431 Palestinians by September 30, 2026. It also accused Israel of crimes against humanity in the West Bank.
Israel has rejected allegations of genocide, maintaining that its military operations target Hamas.
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