Trump 'Board of Peace' says Israel too slow as floods ravage Gaza

President Donald Trump's "Board of Peace" said Monday that Israel needed to act immediately to help war-battered Gaza cope with impending winter, saying measures ahead of deadly floods had been insufficient. "The situation no longer represents simply a threat posed by the approaching winter, but an immediate humanitarian emergency," the Board of Peace said in a statement. Heavy rain over the past two days has swept away tens of thousands of tents in the territory, where virtually the entire population has been displaced at least once, and killed at least five people, according to Hamas-led authorities in Gaza.

The Board of Peace, tasked with implementation of an October 2025 US-brokered ceasefire announced between Israel and Hamas, said it had been warning Israel, which controls all entry into the territory, of the need to prepare both for the winter and seasonal flooding. Moments before the statement came out, the Israeli military said it had allowed more than 8,200 trucks to enter the Gaza Strip with supplies including 91,000 tents. The Board of Peace acknowledged steps being taken by Israel but said that they remain "insufficient".

"We call on the leadership of the current Government of Israel to act immediately to authorise and facilitate the entry of all necessary winterisation and humanitarian supplies," it said. Israel has taken a biting tone against Hamas over the floods, saying the militant group should have invested in infrastructure instead of weaponry. "Hamas doesn't get to escape responsibility every time it rains," the Israeli foreign ministry posted Sunday on X. The Board of Peace also called on Hamas to abide by commitments under the ceasefire.

Despite the truce, Israel has kept up nearly daily strikes in Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is fighting for his political survival following tight elections last month, has vowed to kill anyone involved in Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack, the deadliest day ever for Israel. sct/ris