Hamas pushes back on Board of Peace's account of Gaza floods
Hamas said the board's flood statement ignored Israel's wider role in stalling the US-backed peace plan, and a storm flooded more than 70,000 tents.
Hamas pushed back against the Board of Peace's account of Gaza's floods on Monday, Turkey's state-run news agency Anadolu Agency reported.
The group rejected blame for delays in carrying out the roadmap, saying it and other Palestinian factions had already accepted it, in response to the board's statement on the floods.
Earlier on Monday, the board faulted Israel for slow admission of essential supplies, saying the delays had made the humanitarian situation worse.
It also urged Hamas to meet its commitments, including disarming and handing over governing authority.
Hamas said it noted the board's criticism of Israel but argued that the statement did not address Israel's wider role in blocking US President Donald Trump's plan.
The group cited an Aug. 3 statement from mediators Egypt, Qatar and Türkiye, which warned that Israeli violations were eroding the plan's second phase.
Hamas argued that using lifesaving aid as political leverage breached humanitarian and legal obligations, while shelter supplies remained outside Gaza as displaced families faced flooding and cold.
"Children dying under the sand and in rainwater are not parties to the negotiations," Hamas said.
The group urged the board to explain its own failure to respond to the disaster and to press Israel to meet its first-phase commitments.
It called for crossings to be opened to relief, shelter and recovery supplies without political or security conditions.
Hamas also asked for a timetable and a verification mechanism for the roadmap, including Israeli withdrawal and steps that would let the Palestinian committee tasked with administering Gaza begin work.
It said it remained ready to carry out the agreed terms but rejected new conditions that would change the order of obligations or delay Israeli withdrawal.
A storm struck Gaza on Friday evening, flooding more than 70,000 tents and bringing down dozens of war-damaged walls, the Government Media Office said.
Two women and three children were killed late Sunday when a sand embankment collapsed onto tents sheltering displaced Palestinians in Deir al-Balah, Gaza's Civil Defense said.