Gaza Under the Storm A Deep Low-Pressure System Worsens the Ongoing Genocidal War and Exposes the Collapse of the International Humanitarian System
Date: 12 December 2025
Urgent Humanitarian Statement and Appeal
Gaza Under the Storm: A Deep Low-Pressure System Worsens the Ongoing Genocidal War and Exposes the Collapse of the International Humanitarian System
The International Commission to Support Palestinian Rights (ICSPR) affirmed that the Gaza Strip had been experiencing an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe after a deep low-pressure storm struck the area, flooding thousands of tents and causing the collapse of dozens of already-destroyed homes, further worsening the suffering of more than 1.5 million displaced people living in worn-out tents without protection from rain, cold, or winds. Yesterday, 13 civilians, including three children, were reported dead due to tent flooding and the collapse of destroyed homes, in addition to 4 killed and 10 injured by direct attacks from the Israeli occupation. This raised the death toll of the genocidal war since October 2023 to 70,373, in addition to tens of thousands missing and 171,079 injured.
ICSPR stressed that the gravity of the tragedy was escalating as 850,000 displaced people across more than 760 displacement sites faced imminent flood risks, after rainwater submerged more than 27,000 tents and damaged thousands of temporary shelters. Rainwater mixing with sewage posed threats of severe intestinal and skin diseases, especially among newborns, the elderly, and vulnerable groups. ICSPR emphasized that keeping civilians in such conditions—without heating, winter clothing, or safe shelter—constituted a real threat to life and exposed the scale of deliberate neglect civilians were facing.
ICSPR praised the efforts of all countries and organizations providing humanitarian support to Gaza’s population and valued the tremendous work carried out by medical teams and civil defense crews in Gaza despite extremely limited resources, a lack of essential equipment, water pumps, and the materials needed to rescue people trapped in collapsed tents. ICSPR also stressed that the occupation’s continued prevention of storm-resistant tents, temporary housing units and caravans, heavy equipment, relief materials, winter supplies, and fuel amounted to a compounded crime that turned displacement camps into daily death zones and revealed a clear intent to expand the scope of the genocide.
ICSPR welcomed the UN General Assembly’s adoption of a resolution obligating the occupying power to implement the rulings of the International Court of Justice, allow the entry of aid, and ensure the provision of food, water, medicine, and shelter without obstructing relief operations. ICSPR considered this resolution an international reaffirmation of the legal responsibilities borne by the occupation, but warned that it would remain meaningless unless implemented immediately and fully—especially with the worsening climate disaster threatening civilian lives.
ICSPR strongly condemned the ongoing genocide and the obstruction of emergency humanitarian aid, considering the prevention of 300,000 tents and mobile homes, the blocking of alternative shelters, and the deprivation of hundreds of thousands of displaced civilians from basic means of survival as a deliberate killing policy that weaponizes the weather against civilians. ICSPR affirmed that these acts represent blatant violations of international humanitarian law, the Geneva Conventions, and the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
ICSPR expressed deep regret over the glaring international failure to confront these successive catastrophes, stressing that leaving Gaza’s population to face cold, hunger, and floods without effective humanitarian intervention or international protection amounts to a complete moral collapse and complicity enabling the continuation of the genocide. ICSPR added that the international community’s failure to ensure the entry of aid, open crossings, or protect shelters reflects a dangerous breakdown of the global humanitarian system.
ICSPR called on the international community and the United Nations to exert immediate pressure on the occupying power to allow the entry of all essential supplies, including storm- and rain-resistant tents, caravans and mobile homes, water pumps, rescue equipment, winter clothing, fuel, and urgent medical supplies.
ICSPR urged the opening of all crossings fully and without restrictions to allow the entry of food, medicine, water, fuel, and shelter materials, and to permit rescue teams, medical staff, and humanitarian personnel to enter all areas of the Gaza Strip without obstruction or targeting.
ICSPR demanded the immediate and effective provision of international protection for civilians, the cessation of attacks on camps and shelters, and the enabling of UNRWA and international organizations to carry out their humanitarian duties without interference or threats from the occupation.
ICSPR also called for the launch of an urgent reconstruction plan to address the collapse of infrastructure, sewage networks, and water systems, rehabilitate areas affected by the floods, and ensure a safe and healthy environment for the population.
ICSPR renewed its call for an immediate and complete halt to the genocidal crimes, the implementation of the UN General Assembly resolution, and the activation of urgent international mechanisms to save Gaza before it is too late.
