Nearly 795,000 Displaced Palestinians at Flood Risk after Storm Byron Makes Landfall in Gaza

PALESTINE ISRAEL GAZA GENOCIDE, 15 Dec 2025

International Organization for Migration - TRANSCEND Media Service

Flooding in Gaza has damaged shelters and left families exposed to rising risks.
Photo: IOM 2025

12 Dec 2025 – Storm Byron, a severe storm system that triggered flooding in Greece and Cyprus before reaching Gaza earlier this week, has now made landfall, bringing heavy rainfall that has already flooded multiple displacement sites and placed nearly 795,000* displaced Palestinians at heightened risk. Rainfall is expected to continue in the hours ahead, further straining conditions for families already living in unsafe shelters. 

Heavy rain has begun falling across hundreds of displacement sites, overwhelming areas where even moderate rainfall can quickly become dangerous. Despite the ceasefire, displaced Palestinians continue to live in overcrowded areas with little protection against rising water levels. 

Since the 10 October ceasefire, IOM has dispatched more than one million shelter items to partners in Gaza, including waterproof tents, thermal blankets, sleeping mats, and tarpaulins. Yet these supplies cannot withstand flooding. Many displacement sites sit on low, debris-filled land with inadequate drainage and waste management, leaving families at heightened risk of disease outbreaks and other public health hazards as the flooding spreads. 

“People in Gaza have lived through loss and fear for far too long,” said IOM Director General Amy Pope. “Now, after this storm made landfall yesterday, families are trying to protect their children with whatever they have. They deserve more than this uncertainty. They deserve safety. Immediate and unhindered access is essential so tools and supplies can reach those who are doing everything they can to hold their lives together in these extremely difficult conditions.” 

Basic tool kits, sandbags and water pumps, as well as construction materials like timber and plywood, remain delayed due to long-standing access restrictions, including limitations on the entry of construction supplies into Gaza. These materials are critical for repairing and reinforcing shelters against continued rainfall and mitigating floods in sites. 

“Palestinians in Gaza are confined within less than 50 per cent of the Strip. Yesterday we witnessed widespread flooding, and with infrastructure already devastated, the rainfall caused severe damage,” said Haitham Aqel, Emergency and Relief Team Leader for the Palestinian Housing Council, a local relief organization and partner to IOM. “We used sandbags to create drainage, but many people’s bedding and mattresses were damaged as water entered through worn-out tents.” 

IOM’s Needs and Population Monitoring (NPM) programme, working through site management partners on the ground, identified more than 140,000 people affected by earlier rains that had already flooded 219 active displacement sites. Building on this assessment, IOM continues to support essential interventions to reduce risks in overcrowded areas, improve layouts and drainage, and help families access critical services.  

“We are doing the best we can, operating in over 120 displacement sites across Gaza City, Khan Younis, and Deir Al Balah, but the needs are overwhelming,” said Mr. Aqel. “We urgently need heavy machinery to remove rubble, more shelter items, and recovery efforts must begin so Gaza can start to rebuild.” 

NOTE TO EDITORS 

*According to a flood risk assessment conducted by the Site Management Cluster in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), a humanitarian coordination group supporting displaced populations. 

IOM supports the Site Management Cluster in OPT with technical experts, partner coordination, and data management through its NPM programme. 

For more information, please visit IOM’s Media Centre.  

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