Israel lists 91 thousand tents for Gaza winter amid Board of Peace criticism

Israel's Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said it has helped advance a winter preparedness plan for the Gaza Strip that includes more than 91 thousand tents. The statement responded to criticism from the US-backed Board of Peace and several countries over Israeli restrictions on aid entering the territory. The Times of Israel reported that the office of Interim Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued an English-language statement arguing that Israel is doing what it can to let winter equipment in, and that it is Hamas that has failed to keep its commitments.

According to the statement, as relayed in a post by Axios correspondent Barak Ravid, the plan was coordinated through the Israeli body that handles civilian affairs in the territories, working with the Board of Peace, the United Nations, international organisations and donor countries. The PMO listed more than 8,200 trucks carrying tarpaulins, blankets, winter clothing and other equipment, 12 sewage trucks for pumping and removing wastewater, repairs to water and sewage networks, and fuel to run pumping facilities. It said Israel would keep supporting winter preparations, while warning that Hamas must not be allowed to exploit humanitarian supplies to rebuild its capabilities.

What the Board of Peace is

The Board of Peace is a US-backed body tied to President Donald Trump's 20-point plan for Gaza. The PMO statement said Israel was cooperating closely with both Washington and the board and remained committed to that plan succeeding. The Times of Israel described the board as one of the voices criticising Israel's limits on aid to the Strip.

The body Israel credited with moving the plan forward is the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, known by the acronym COGAT. It is the unit of Israel's defence establishment responsible for coordinating civilian matters, including the passage of goods, with the Palestinian territories.

Disarmament before reconstruction

Alongside the list of supplies, the PMO restated Israel's position that, under the Trump plan, Hamas must hand over its weapons before reconstruction of the Strip starts. The statement said Israel had hoped Hamas would disarm, agree to the demilitarisation of Gaza, give up governing it and begin a process of de-radicalisation. It said that so far Hamas "has not surrendered a single weapon" and accused the group of holding Gaza's residents hostage under its rule.

Israeli broadcaster N12 reported that Netanyahu also posted the same message on his English-language account on X, framing it as a reply to the Board of Peace. Ynet's news alerts channel carried the headline line that Hamas had not handed over even one weapon.

Conditions on the ground

The statement came as winter weather reached Gaza. A photograph published by The Times of Israel showed displaced Palestinians trying to clear standing water outside flooded tents during heavy rain in the Al-Remal neighbourhood of Gaza City on November 7, 2026.

A different account of the delay

Not every report accepted the PMO's framing. Barak Ravid, speaking on N12, said the announcement amounted to Israel now permitting the Board of Peace's winter plan to go ahead after holding it up for months because of the Israeli election campaign. He described the timing as coming now that the elections are over.

Ravid also reported on N12 that Israel had, among other things, refused to allow tents into the Strip, arguing that Hamas would use the tent poles to restore its tunnels. The PMO statement did not address that earlier refusal, and instead presented Israel as an active facilitator of the winter effort. These two accounts have not been reconciled in any of the reports.

What the reports do not say

None of the reports gives a timetable for when the tents and trucks will enter Gaza, or how much of the listed equipment has already crossed. There is no reported response from the Board of Peace, the United Nations or Hamas to the PMO statement, and the PMO did not comment on Ravid's account that the plan had been delayed for months.