The UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) says basic tool kits, sandbags and water pumps, as well as construction materials like timber and plywood, remain delayed due to “long-standing access restrictions” by Israeli authorities.

“These materials are critical for repairing and reinforcing shelters against continued rainfall and mitigating floods in sites,” it said in a statement.

The IOM said that since the October ceasefire, it has dispatched more than one million shelter items to partners in Gaza, including waterproof tents, thermal blankets, sleeping mats and tarpaulins, but the supplies cannot withstand flooding.

“Many displacement sites sit on low debris-filled land with inadequate drainage and waste management, leaving families at heightened risk of disease outbreaks and other public health hazards as the flooding spreads,” the agency said.

IOM Director General Amy Pope said immediate and unhindered aid access is “essential” so Palestinian families can get through extremely difficult conditions after two years of genocidal war.

COGAT, the Israeli military entity that is in charge of managing aid going into Gaza, has not directly commented on blocking the tent materials, but it has maintained that enough aid is allowed in and repeatedly blamed the UN and international organisations, as well as Hamas.