Gaza flooding sparks Board of Peace criticism of Israel following Blair visit

Just days after Tony Blair visited Israel and met with President Isaac Herzog, the Board of Peace issued a sharply worded statement following flooding in the Gaza Strip, calling on Israel to immediately approve the entry of winter preparedness supplies.

The board criticized Israel's conduct, arguing that delays in approving the entry of essential equipment had worsened conditions in the territory. The call for Hamas to lay down its arms and transfer governing authority to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza received only passing mention.

The statement came after heavy rains flooded tent encampments across Gaza over the weekend. But alongside its humanitarian appeal, the statement also criticized the Israeli government. The board said it had spent months pressing Israel to approve the entry of essential materials and equipment in accordance with its commitments under the Sharm el-Sheikh agreement.

The Board of Peace said it was "deeply concerned by the severe seasonal flooding" in Gaza over the previous two days. According to the statement, the floods inundated tens of thousands of tents and makeshift shelters, damaged essential belongings and left displaced families, already living in precarious conditions, exposed to cold and unsafe conditions.

The board said it had warned for months about the conditions now unfolding and had repeatedly pressed all parties to fulfill their commitments under the president's comprehensive peace plan.

It said it had specifically urged the Israeli government to authorize essential supplies for temporary shelters, water and sanitation infrastructure, waste management, drainage and sewage removal, and to honor its commitments under the Sharm el-Sheikh Humanitarian Protocol.

The board also addressed the pressure it had placed on Hamas to disarm, relinquish governing authority and fulfill its obligations under the plan. It said these failures to act had delayed progress and compounded the hardships facing Gaza's civilian population.

The board acknowledged steps being considered by the Israeli government but stressed that "the response remains insufficient."

It called on Israel's current government to act immediately to authorize and facilitate the entry of all necessary winter preparedness and humanitarian supplies and to fully implement its commitments under Trump's comprehensive peace plan.

The board said delays in granting approvals and implementing the commitments made in Sharm el-Sheikh had worsened the consequences of a foreseeable humanitarian challenge. It also said those delays had significantly postponed the start of the process of decommissioning weapons and transferring authority from Hamas to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza.

The board also called on the terrorist organization to fulfill its commitments without further delay. It said recent military activity in civilian areas and near Israeli positions endangered civilians and undermined humanitarian progress made over the past year.

Hamas must halt such activity, lay down its weapons and permit the full transfer of governing authority to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, the board said. It emphasized that nothing absolved Hamas of responsibility for launching the October 7, 2023, attacks without regard for their consequences for the civilian population.

Blair, the former British prime minister who now serves as a senior representative on the Board of Peace, is involved in efforts concerning the future of the Gaza Strip. He met with Herzog as part of efforts to advance President Donald Trump's peace plan.

Following their meeting, Herzog spoke Sunday at the President's Residence about the need to move the plan forward. Speaking at the ceremony where he tasked Gadi Eisenkot with forming a government, Herzog warned that Israel faced immense challenges, some requiring urgent action. "Iran does not pause for a moment in its schemes and threats," Herzog said.

He added that Israel must build a diplomatic framework for the region and for the period after the war, advance the Board of Peace and Trump's 20-point Gaza plan and pursue negotiations with Lebanon and other neighboring countries.

Four killed in rockslide

Heavy rains in Gaza triggered a rockslide that struck tents, killing a woman and three children.

Local medical teams said heavy rain Sunday evening washed away a rocky sand embankment near a displaced persons camp south of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. A woman and two of her children, ages 8 and 6, were killed, along with another 4-year-old child. Six other people were injured.

Amal al-Zein, 35, a relative of the victims, described the situation in Gaza, saying those who survived bombs and missiles were now dying beneath collapsing buildings, sand and hillsides.

Sohaib Abu Darbali, who witnessed the incident, said the rockslide sounded like an explosion. He told Reuters that three tents had been completely buried when the hillside collapsed and that people were trapped beneath the debris, out of sight.

Most Gaza Strip residents are still living in tent encampments or the ruins of bombed-out buildings. Reconstruction work has yet to begin, and local authorities said at least 70,000 tents were flooded in the first hours after heavy rains began Saturday.

Mahmoud Bassal, a spokesman for Gaza's Civil Defense, said people had pitched tents beside sand embankments, believing they would provide protection. But tents could not protect people from rain or heat, he told Reuters, adding that "the only solution is reconstruction."