By GISRAEL Editorial · Week of November 8 to 14, 2026
The number of the week: 150,000. That is how many tents the UN says sit outside Gaza waiting to enter, while families inside sleep in flooded ones.
1. The first winter storm floods Gaza's camps
Heavy rain hit Gaza from late Friday, November 6, through the weekend. The UN reported damaged shelters or belongings for more than 26,000 households. On Sunday, November 8, a rain-soaked embankment collapsed onto tents south of Deir al-Balah and killed at least five people, including children, according to Gaza's civil defense.
This is the fourth winter Gaza's displaced families have spent in tents. UN OCHA estimates more than 950,000 people live in displacement sites at medium or high risk of flooding. The shelter cluster said on November 1 that families still needed about 121,000 tents, 561,000 tarpaulins and 1.7 million mattresses.
2. Who is to blame? The Board of Peace answers
On Monday, November 9, the Board of Peace, the U.S.-backed body overseeing Gaza's recovery, said Israel's delays on winter supplies had made a foreseeable crisis worse. The UN agreed the same day. "Yes, we certainly agree," deputy UN spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the charge and blamed Hamas, citing its refusal to disarm. The AP noted that the ceasefire deal does not make the entry of tents and aid conditional on disarmament. U.S. Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii, the top Democrat on the Senate foreign aid spending panel, called on Israel to let winter gear in immediately.
3. The killing continues under the ceasefire
Israeli strikes and gunfire killed five people on Tuesday, November 10, hospital officials told the AP. Gaza's Health Ministry says more than 1,600 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire began on October 10, 2025. Its total since October 2023 reached 74,645 on November 10.
4. The aid question lands in Washington
One week after President Trump said U.S. funding of about $4 billion a year to Israel would end after 2026, analysts are still asking what he meant. Congress controls the money, and the 2016 aid agreement runs to 2028. Our new explainer sets out what changes and what does not, including the risk that human rights conditions on U.S. weapons disappear with the grants.
5. Israel's next government is still unformed
The official results of Israel's October 27 election went to President Isaac Herzog on November 4. Netanyahu's bloc holds 53 of 120 seats, eight short of a majority. Arab-led parties hold 19, the most in years, and both main blocs are courting or excluding them. Coalition talks continue.
This week on GISRAEL
- New explainer: Where the ICJ Genocide Case Stands, and Why It Will Take Years
- New explainer: The Yellow Line: How a Ceasefire Marker Became Gaza's New Border
- Glossary: 30 new terms, from Administrative Detention to the Yellow Line
- FAQ: updated with 21 new questions
One thing you can do
Call your senators and ask them to press for the immediate entry of tents, tarpaulins and flood pumps into Gaza. The script and numbers are on our Take Action page. It takes three minutes.
Sources