UN: Over 150,000 tents await Israeli permission for Gaza entry

Tents waiting to enter Gaza

More than 150,000 tents purchased by humanitarian partners and member states are waiting outside the Gaza Strip for Israeli permission to enter, the UN said Wednesday in New York. UN Deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters at a media briefing that 117,000 of those tents came from the Egyptian Relief Committee in El Arish.

When asked what was needed to bring the tents into Gaza, Haq said, “Ultimately, we need the Israeli authorities to cooperate with giving the permissions so that we can bring those tents in.” He said some problems had to do with money for transport, but this case concerned the needed permissions and getting the tents into Gaza.

The time needed for the tents to reach people in need once permissions are granted, Haq said, depends on “how much access we have to the crossing points” and how quick the procedure is to get them into Gaza. “But obviously, they’re just on the other side, and we’re ready to bring them in as soon as we get the permissions,” he said.

Winter supplies face delays

Delays in delivering essential winter supplies to Gaza cannot be justified by waiting for a new Israeli government to form, UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said Wednesday, calling that wait “not an acceptable excuse.” In a statement, Fletcher said foreign ministers and partners had assured him of support but had repeatedly said progress would be hard until after Israeli elections, while he was now being told to wait for a government to form.

“In case anyone has any doubt about international humanitarian law: this is not an acceptable excuse, as the international community and Board of Peace have made clear,” Fletcher said. He said the UN had set out a plan for the supplies it needs to bring in, including durable shelter, warm clothes, blankets, bedding and safe heating solutions, as well as generators, fuel, engine oil, spare parts and equipment to pump out water, remove debris and clear explosive ordnance. Fletcher also said, “No more delay. Open all the crossings, not just one. Let our vital NGO partners work. Allow the commercial markets to function. Stop this collective punishment. Fund the plan. End this predictable, preventable suffering. The world is not powerless here,” urging action on the plan.

Flooding worsens sanitation crisis

Haq said weekend flooding was worsening a sanitation crisis caused by the war, citing UNICEF. “No wastewater treatment plant in Gaza is currently operational,” he said.

In Gaza City, Haq said, rainwater mixed with sewage is threatening to overflow from the Sheikh Radwan stormwater basin, where only two of six pumps still work; UNICEF has been seeking approval from Israeli authorities for more than a year to bring in equipment needed to repair the facility. Haq added that humanitarian funding and Israeli approvals are urgently needed so enough supplies and machinery can be brought into Gaza. More than 74,600 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 176,000 wounded in Israel’s war on Gaza since October 2023; most are women and children, while 90% of the territory’s infrastructure has been destroyed.