Board of Peace faults Israel as floods hit more than 70,000 Gaza tents

The Board of Peace, an international body backed by the United States, has issued a statement criticising Israel's handling of severe flooding in the Gaza Strip and urging the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to let in more equipment for winter and humanitarian relief. According to the text of the statement as circulated by the Hebrew-language Telegram channel Abu Ali Express, the board said the measures Israel is taking are not sufficient, and called on the current Israeli leadership to act at once to approve and enable the entry of everything needed to prepare for winter and to deliver aid.

The same statement also addressed Hamas, the Islamist group that rules Gaza, calling on its leadership to meet its own obligations without further delay. The Times of Israel reported that the board described itself as deeply concerned by the flooding of the previous two days and characterised it as "an immediate humanitarian emergency."

What the flooding did

Heavy rain over the weekend flooded more than 70,000 tents across Gaza, according to The Times of Israel, with tens of thousands of displaced people affected and some of them hurt. The paper reported that a sand embankment gave way at a camp for displaced people in the Deir al-Balah area, killing at least five people. Deir al-Balah is in the central part of the Gaza Strip, and much of the territory's displaced population lives in tent camps there and elsewhere after the war left large parts of Gaza devastated. A photograph accompanying the Times of Israel report showed a child beside a pool of rainwater at one such camp in Deir al-Balah on November 7, 2026.

The demands on Israel

The board linked its call on Israel to the framework it is tasked with advancing. According to the statement as published by Abu Ali Express, it asked Israel to fully carry out its commitments under what it called President Trump's comprehensive peace plan. Ynet, the news site of the Yedioth Ahronoth group, described the statement as sharply worded and said it pointed a finger of blame at Israel, citing the board's assertion that "delays in approvals worsened the humanitarian crisis." The approvals in question concern Israeli permission for goods to enter Gaza.

The Times of Israel went further in its reading of the document. It reported that the board held the Netanyahu government responsible for the fact that Hamas still keeps all of its weapons and still governs almost all Palestinians in Gaza, while also saying that Hamas's unwillingness to give up its arms complicates efforts to provide for civilians. The Times of Israel headline framed this as the board saying Israel is holding up Hamas disarmament.

The demands on Hamas

The portion of the statement addressed to Hamas, as quoted by Abu Ali Express, said recent military activity in civilian areas and near Israeli positions puts civilians at risk and undermines the humanitarian gains made over the past year. The text in that report then begins a sentence stating that Hamas must stop an activity, but the excerpt is cut off before the demand is completed.

The reports differ in how much weight they give this part. Ynet said the call for Hamas to give up its weapons appeared only at the margins of the board's announcement, with the criticism of Israel at its centre. The Times of Israel, by contrast, treated the disarmament issue as a central thread, presenting the board as blaming both sides for the stalled process.

The diplomatic backdrop

Ynet placed the statement in the context of a visit by former British prime minister Tony Blair, who met President Herzog a few days before it was released. According to Ynet, Herzog used that meeting to call for advancing the Trump plan for Gaza. Ynet presented the board's criticism as following closely on that visit, though it did not report any direct connection between the meeting and the wording of the statement.

For readers following the post-war arrangements in Gaza, the statement is notable for addressing both Israel and Hamas in a single document, holding each responsible for parts of the delay in implementing the peace plan, while tying the humanitarian situation to the question of Hamas's weapons.

What the reports do not say

• None of the reports includes a response from the Israeli government, the Prime Minister's Office or the military body that coordinates the entry of goods into Gaza.
• No reaction from Hamas to the board's demands has been reported.
• The statement as reported does not specify which items Israel has delayed or how long approvals have taken.
• The full text of the demand on Hamas is not available in the material, since the published excerpt breaks off mid-sentence.