Israel’s 91,000 Gaza tents fall short, aid expert says, as Hamas accused of weaponizing crisis

The intensity of accusations and counterclaims surrounding the humanitarian problems in Gaza obscures the many complexities of the current situation.

In this case, the Board of Peace, sponsored by US President Donald Trump, took the side of critics of Israel more than the side of Jerusalem, though it also criticized Hamas.

At stake at the highest level is who will win the struggle between Israel and Hamas about whether rebuilding Gaza and withdrawing from Gaza would come first, or whether Hamas disarmament would come first.

Within that larger struggle, there is another competition between Israel and Hamas over the kind of humanitarian aid to be provided.

This is namely: whether Hamas can be provided better materials that can make Palestinian residences that can better withstand the elements, including flooding, or whether Israel will continue to block many of these materials out of concern that they have dual-use capabilities, being able to be repurposed for military needs.

Finally, the third piece is the debate about the tents themselves and how much Hamas tried to weaponize the situation in advance versus how much Israel is trying to partially cover up how bad the Palestinians' living situation remains even over a year after the 2025 ceasefire.

Some members of the current government are also holding out hope for a large number of Gazans emigrating from the Strip, though all efforts to make this happen in any concrete way have failed at any strategic level for three years.

Aid expert: Israel’s waterproof tents fall short

Lihi Levian Joffe, coordinator of the Israeli Forum of Experts and Civil Society for Humanitarian Aid to Gaza, started by noting that Israel allowing waterproof tents to enter Gaza is not an act of altruism, but an international obligation, given that it is controlling all aid access.

Joffe acknowledged that Israel has allowed aid groups to provide better tents this fall than in the past, with Israel putting the numbers at 91,000 waterproof tents.

However, she said that the tents Israel has allowed in, with which she is familiar, are only a small step up from camping tents.

In addition, she stated that these tents last a maximum of six months, because they were not constructed to be lived in constantly.

Next, she noted that every time they must be moved to another spot for various practical reasons, this reduces the six-month life cycle of the tent.

Further, Joffe said that even those which withstand rain are not actually meant to handle rain constantly, just for a quick camping trip. This means they also fall apart much faster than the six-month life cycle.

She said that Gaza needed large plastic-covered areas or much more serious tents, implying that Israel does not always allow some of these related items.

Undeniably, if Israel had allowed in October 2025-early 2026 the start of building some new neighborhoods, sponsored by the UAE, in parts of Gaza it controls, those areas, once ready, which be much better for Palestinian civilians (who Israel would need to approve) than any temporary tent situation.

Israel’s limits on Gaza aid groups and crossings

Joffe also criticized that Israel only allows one entry per week of certain items and only around eight to 10 aid organizations, along with the UN, to bring in aid.

At an earlier stage, there were dozens of groups involved, but Israel cracked down on many organizations, either because they refused to register their employees or because of different kinds of specific allegations of either direct or indirect cooperation with Hamas by some of their employees.

HonestReporting has correctly jumped on Hamas for weaponizing the humanitarian situation and having certain public relations materials pre-ready to attack Israel.

It has noted that some of the claims passed on by Hamas are wrong, exaggerated, and serve in an echo chamber of repeating the same statistics, whether correct or not.

Hamas and much of the global media have ignored or downplayed the 91,000 tents Israel has allowed into the Strip, as well as other humanitarian aid.

HonestReporting has exposed that the apparent goal of Hamas has been to try to pressure Israel into withdrawing and allowing rebuilding in Gaza, while Hamas either does not need to disarm or needs to take only symbolic actions.

There is also a debate about whether Israel or Hamas has done more to hinder fixing neighborhood-wide piping and other systems for reducing flooding.

However, the US Board of Peace criticized both sides, Hamas for not disarming, and Israel for stalling for several months on certain commitments it made regarding integrating global peacekeepers, non-Hamas Palestinians technocrats, and better building materials into the Strip, at least on an initial basis.