Hamas said on Sunday that Israel's continued blockade and obstruction of the ceasefire's humanitarian protocol have worsened the suffering of hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians in Gaza amid winter storms and flooding.

In a statement released on Sunday, the group said the effects of the winter storm across Gaza, including flooding in displacement camps and residential areas and damage to buildings, were a direct result of what it called Israel's ongoing siege and its obstruction of the humanitarian protocol in the ceasefire agreement. It said worsening winter conditions had intensified the suffering of hundreds of thousands of displaced people living in damaged shelters and makeshift tents.

According to Gaza's Government Media Office, flooding affected about 70,000 tents, while nearly 400,000 displaced people are living in areas highly vulnerable to further flooding. The Palestinian Civil Defense reported receiving more than 1,500 emergency calls, warned that over 2,000 buildings were at risk of collapse, and said at least 300,000 tents were needed to provide adequate shelter. The storm caused an estimated 3 million dollars in damage, according to the same office.

Hamas said Israel continues to prevent the entry of urgent humanitarian supplies, including prefabricated caravans, repair materials, heating equipment and civil defence supplies. A joint statement by Hamas and other Palestinian factions called on mediators and guarantors of the ceasefire to ensure the humanitarian protocol is implemented and that at least 600 trucks enter Gaza every day, including shelter and heating materials, caravans, and civil defence and reconstruction equipment.

Only 180 to 200 trucks are entering Gaza daily, far short of the 600 agreed under the ceasefire's humanitarian protocol, and only about 40 of those carry humanitarian aid, according to figures reported by the Palestinian NGO Network. Gaza's Government Media Office has said aid trucks entered at only 20.3 percent of the agreed rate in October.

Hamas also criticised the Board of Peace and its executive director, Nickolay Mladenov, over what it called inaction towards Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement, saying their stance effectively provides cover for the continued violations. It called on the board to assume its humanitarian and moral responsibilities and take serious measures to compel Israel to fulfil its obligations and halt its violations.

The group further urged mediators and guarantors of the ceasefire to intensify efforts to ensure the full implementation of the humanitarian protocol, facilitate the flow of aid and shelter supplies, and press Israel to allow the National Committee to enter Gaza and carry out its responsibilities without delay. It called on the international community and Arab and Islamic countries to take urgent action to lift the blockade and ensure the delivery of shelter materials, medicine and food.

Conditions on the ground underline the scale of the shelter shortage. Gaza's civil defence director, Raed al-Dahshan, said crews could do little once they reached flooded families, adding: "Civil defence does not have a single tarpaulin or a single tent." The International Organization for Migration warned in October that only about 17 percent of winter shelter needs had been met, and that about 8,600 emergency shelter kits remained blocked by Israel, which classified them as dual use. Gaza's emergency committee said more than one million displaced people face a harsh winter and that the territory urgently needs about 200,000 tents along with heating supplies.

The storm also struck Gaza's health system. Mohammed Abu Salmiya, director of al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City, said the hospital's emergency department flooded and was out of service for about four hours, and warned of a rise in gastrointestinal, respiratory and skin infections as sewage mixed with rainwater inside tents. He said 50,000 tents had been waiting on the Egyptian side of the border.

COGAT, the Israeli military agency that controls aid into Gaza, did not respond to the flooding, according to the reporting. Israel justifies its restrictions by saying some equipment could be used as weapons and by accusing Hamas of looting aid, claims Hamas rejects. With winter only beginning, aid agencies warn the storm previews months of cold, rain and flooding for families in makeshift shelter.