Gaza is protected by international law. Why are its people still unprotected?

In Gaza, children are no longer dying only from bombs and bullets. They are also dying because they have nowhere safe to sleep.

The day before yesterday, heavy rain flooded thousands of tents sheltering displaced Palestinians. Families woke up surrounded by water. Their mattresses, blankets and remaining belongings were soaked. Some shelters collapsed.

According to the United Nations, five people, including three children, were killed when a sand hill collapsed onto tents in Deir al-Balah. An infant also reportedly drowned in another incident.

These deaths raise a painful question.

How can millions of Palestinians live under international law, while the international system cannot even guarantee them a safe place to sleep?

The United Nations estimates that 1.4 million people in Gaza live in tents or temporary shelters. UNICEF warns that around 950,000 displaced people live in areas exposed to flooding, including 400,000 in locations facing extremely high risks.

Yet more than 150,000 tents purchased by humanitarian organizations and governments remain outside Gaza, waiting to enter.

This is not simply a natural disaster. It is the result of years of destruction, displacement, damaged infrastructure and restrictions that have left people unable to protect themselves from ordinary winter weather.

And it exposes a much bigger problem: the gap between international law and the international order that is supposed to enforce it.

Gaza is not outside international law

International law was created to protect people, especially during armed conflicts.

The Geneva Conventions establish basic rules for protecting civilians. They prohibit attacks directed against civilians, collective punishment and starvation as a method of warfare. They also protect hospitals, medical workers and humanitarian operations.

International courts have spoken, but Gaza continues to suffer

Since the war began, international courts have taken important legal steps.

In January 2024, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to take measures to prevent acts prohibited under the Genocide Convention and enable urgently needed humanitarian assistance.

The Court issued further orders in March and May 2024.

These orders are legally binding, although they do not represent a final judgment that genocide has occurred.

In October 2025, the Court issued another important advisory opinion explaining Israel’s obligations towards humanitarian organizations and the Palestinian population.

It stated that Israel must ensure essential supplies, including food, water, medical care and shelter, and facilitate humanitarian relief provided by the United Nations and other organizations.

The International Criminal Court also issued arrest warrants in November 2024 for Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. The warrants are not convictions.

These developments show that Gaza is not excluded from the international legal system. But legal decisions alone have not provided the protection civilians urgently need.

What is the practical value of international law if a child can still die inside a flooded tent while essential shelter materials remain outside Gaza?

READ: UK-based rights group warns over 1/2 million children in Gaza lack safe shelter amid Israeli restrictions

The latest disaster shows how serious the failure has become

The November flooding has exposed the scale of Gaza’s humanitarian emergency.

According to the UN, more than 26,000 households reported damage to their shelters or belongings. More than 6,000 family shelters were reportedly destroyed, while thousands more were damaged.

But the problem goes beyond tents.

UNICEF reports that no wastewater treatment plant in Gaza is currently operating.

In Gaza City, the Sheikh Radwan stormwater basin risks overflowing with water mixed with sewage. Only two of its six pumps are working.

On 10 November, UNICEF said Israeli authorities had rejected the entry of equipment needed for a $3 million project to repair the basin, citing security concerns.

This means families could face another disaster involving contaminated water, disease and further displacement.

Even education has been affected. The UN reported that flooding damaged or disrupted dozens of temporary learning spaces serving around 55,000 children.

The same children who have already lost their homes, schools and years of normal childhood are now struggling to find a dry place to sleep.

This is what makes Gaza’s crisis so alarming.

The rain itself is not extraordinary. What is extraordinary is the level of destruction and vulnerability that has turned normal winter weather into a deadly threat.

Humanitarian organizations are trying to respond. But they face shortages of funding, equipment and supplies, alongside restrictions on bringing essential materials into Gaza.

These conditions were foreseeable. Preparations should have been possible long before the rain arrived.

A peace plan cannot replace international law

The current political situation raises another serious question.

On 9 November, the US-backed Board of Peace warned that Gaza was facing an immediate humanitarian emergency.

The Board criticized Israeli delays in allowing essential humanitarian and winter supplies into Gaza. It also called on Hamas to disarm and transfer governing authority under President Donald Trump’s peace plan.

Israel says it has allowed large quantities of humanitarian supplies to enter and has blamed Hamas and aid-delivery problems for continuing delays.

These disagreements may affect the political process. But they should not determine whether civilians receive essential humanitarian assistance.

A child does not control Hamas’s weapons.

A mother living in a flooded tent does not decide when Israeli forces withdraw.

And families who have lost everything cannot negotiate the political future of Gaza before receiving food, clean water and shelter.

International humanitarian obligations do not disappear because peace negotiations are difficult.

The peace process may require compromises, guarantees and months of negotiations.

But people need protection today.

Humanitarian assistance cannot become something civilians must earn through political agreements.

READ: US senator urges Israel to allow urgent humanitarian aid into Gaza

The international order faces its own test

The problem in Gaza is not that international law has no rules.

The rules exist. International courts have explained many of them. Humanitarian organizations have documented the suffering and identified what is urgently needed.

The problem is that enforcing these obligations often depends on political decisions made by powerful states.

Governments may support international law in their speeches while disagreeing over sanctions, arms transfers and diplomatic pressure.

The United Nations can warn about a disaster. Courts can issue decisions. Humanitarian agencies can prepare supplies.

But when political decisions prevent or delay the necessary response, the people who suffer are civilians.

International law should not depend on whether a population has powerful allies.

If its protections are universal, they must apply in practice to Palestinians just as they apply to everyone else.

This is also a test of the credibility of the international order itself.

An international system that can organize peace conferences, issue legal decisions and discuss reconstruction, but cannot ensure the delivery of essential shelter and sanitation equipment, must explain where its priorities lie.

Gaza needs protection, not another declaration

The people of Gaza have already heard countless statements about their suffering.

They have heard international leaders express concern, call for humanitarian assistance and promise reconstruction.

Yet families are still living among destroyed buildings. Children are still exposed to disease and cold. And another winter has arrived without enough safe shelter.

The latest flooding shows that ending major military operations is not enough. People also need the conditions necessary to survive and rebuild their lives.

International law must do more than identify violations after people have suffered.

It must help prevent suffering before it happens.

Gaza is not outside international law. But its people are still waiting for the international order to turn that law into real protection.

The question is no longer whether Palestinians have the right to life, food, water, shelter and dignity.

Those rights already exist.

The real question is why the international system can recognize those rights yet still fail to protect the people who need them most. Does International Law protect Gaza only on paper?

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The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.