PM Shehbaz directs foreign ministry to scale up Gaza aid as over 70,000 tents flooded

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday to make every possible effort to urgently scale up humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in Gaza, where heavy rains have flooded at least 70,000 tents housing displaced people.

In a statement on X, the prime minister expressed deep concern over what he described as Israel’s continued unlawful actions preventing essential humanitarian aid from reaching Palestinians in the besieged territory.

“I have instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to make every possible effort and use all available means to urgently scale up humanitarian aid and ensure its delivery to our people in the Gaza Strip without delay,” he said.

أعرب عن بالغ قلقي إزاء استمرار إسرائيل في ارتكاب أعمال غير قانونية تحول دون وصول المساعدات الإنسانية الأساسية إلى الشعب الفلسطيني الصامد في قطاع غزة.

وتدمي القلوب المشاهد المروعة للخيام التي تغمرها مياه الأمطار، وللأطفال الفلسطينيين في غزة الذين لا يجدون مأوى ولا مكانا يأوون إليه، ويواجهون خطر الجوع والبرد القارس.

وأدين بأشد العبارات هذه الانتهاكات المستمرة لوقف إطلاق النار وللقانون الدولي، كما أدين استمرار العدوان على الشعب الفلسطيني وما يترتب عليه من معاناة إنسانية متفاقمة.

وقد وجهت وزارة الخارجية إلى بذل كل جهد ممكن، واستخدام جميع السبل المتاحة، لتكثيف المساعدات الإنسانية بصورة عاجلة وضمان وصولها إلى أهلنا في قطاع غزة دون إبطاء.

— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) November 9, 2026

Shehbaz condemned what he called continued violations of the ceasefire and international law, warning that the situation was worsening the humanitarian suffering of Palestinians.

He also described images of rainwater flooding tents, leaving children without shelter and exposing them to hunger and bitter cold, as heartbreaking.

The directive comes as severe weather has compounded the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians are living in makeshift shelters.

Heavy rains flood displacement camps

According to local authorities, heavy rains have flooded tens of thousands of tents across the Gaza Strip, washing away shelters and soaking blankets and mattresses.

The Hamas-run Gaza government media office said at least 70,000 tents had been flooded within 12 hours, affecting tens of thousands of displaced people and causing injuries. No fatalities had been reported.

The territory’s civil defence service said it had received 1,500 distress calls from displaced residents. Three abandoned houses also collapsed, although no injuries were reported.

At a tent encampment in Gaza City, residents struggled to keep water out of their shelters, using sand to reinforce tents while others tried to move children away from flooded areas.

“This is the first day of rain, and of course we are already flooded. What will happen if it rains again the next day? This is only the first day and we’re already overwhelmed,” Gaza resident Olfat Magdoub told Reuters.

Municipal and civil defence officials said fuel shortages and damaged equipment had left them unable to cope with the storm.

They said Israel had destroyed hundreds of vehicles, including bulldozers and water-pumping equipment, during its war against Hamas, which has displaced most of Gaza’s more than two million residents.

Hamas has also accused Israel of preventing shelters and construction materials from entering the territory.

Reconstruction efforts remain stalled

COGAT, the Israeli military agency responsible for coordinating aid, did not immediately respond to the allegations. It said on Friday that it had stepped up efforts to improve sanitary conditions across Gaza ahead of the expected heavy rains, working with international organisations.

The agency said four additional vacuum trucks had entered Gaza through the International Committee of the Red Cross this week, joining eight others brought in over the previous month to support sewage pumping, waste removal and repairs to water and sewage infrastructure.

However, reconstruction has made little progress despite a US-brokered ceasefire agreement last year that called for Gaza’s eventual rebuilding.

Negotiators have yet to agree on arrangements for Hamas to disarm or for Israel to withdraw its troops, which control about two-thirds of the territory.

“We have no resources, no tarpaulins, no tents and no one is checking on us,” displaced resident Rafiq Ghattas told Reuters as he stood barefoot in a pool of rainwater.

Palestinian authorities say more than 74,000 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its assault on the territory following the October 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas-led fighters in southern Israel, in which about 1,200 people were killed.

— With additional input from Reuters.