GAZA, (PIC)
As summer sets in with soaring temperatures, the suffering of Gaza people is reaching unprecedented levels. A new and harsh chapter of daily hardship is unfolding, driven by the widespread and systematic destruction of water infrastructure during the Israeli genocide.
At the heart of this crisis, a drop of water has shifted from being a basic human right to an unattainable hope. It now comes at a high cost to people’s health and energy.
Across the Strip, long lines stretch for hours in front of water trucks and limited filling stations, while warnings grow of an impending public health disaster threatening hundreds of thousands of displaced people, particularly children, the elderly, and the sick in overcrowded camps.
UN agencies indicate that the crisis is becoming increasingly severe. Tens of thousands of families now rely entirely on water tankers or fragile local stations.
UNICEF reports that 82 percent of households in Gaza are already experiencing water insecurity, while 70 percent are unable to access even the minimum humanitarian standard of six liters per person per day.
During a field visit documenting this daily struggle, Um Uday Mhanna, a displaced mother of three living in a camp west of Gaza City, described her ordeal. She said she waits for more than two hours under the scorching sun for water trucks. When they arrive, chaos erupts as people rush to secure their share before supplies run out.
She stressed that the crisis is no longer just about thirst. It now affects personal hygiene, laundry, and basic sanitation.
Daily routines of hardship
In Al-Shati Camp, securing water has become a compulsory daily routine that is stealing children’s childhoods.
Ashraf Miqdad, a father of four, wakes up at dawn to prepare empty containers and takes his children along to walk long distances to secure enough water for just one day.
He expressed deep concern over the noticeable decline in the number of water trucks reaching their area.
A similarly grim picture unfolds in Deir al Balah, where Shireen Khaled and her family are living under severe water deprivation due to the complete absence of tanker deliveries. She has resorted to forced rationing, which has proven insufficient in the intense summer heat and given her children’s needs. She fears dehydration or being forced to use contaminated water.
Her 13-year-old son Khaled echoed this hardship, saying he walks long distances carrying heavy containers and simply wishes to return to a normal life where he does not have to think about how to get a clean glass of water.
For others, the physical burden poses serious health risks. Moamen Hamdouna, who cares for his elderly parents in a camp west of Gaza, explained that the available water is often either highly saline or contaminated.
This poses a direct threat to his father, who suffers from chronic illnesses. This has forced him to ration their daily food in order to afford expensive bottled water amid a complete lack of income.
In the same context, a source from an international humanitarian organization revealed another alarming development. There has been a reduction in funding allocated for drinking water support by international donors without clear justification. The source warned that this decline will have catastrophic consequences for civilians in the coming weeks.
A warning cry
Meanwhile, Mazen al-Banna, Director General of Planning at the Water Authority and Environmental Quality Authority, issued a stark warning.
Al-Banna stated that water shortages now pose a direct threat to public health and significantly increase the risk of deadly disease outbreaks.
In a press statement, al-Banna outlined the scale of destruction. Approximately 85 percent of Gaza’s water and sanitation infrastructure, including wells, pumping stations, desalination, and treatment facilities, has been damaged or destroyed. The estimated losses in this vital sector amount to around 800 million dollars.
As a result, water production has dropped to about 130,000 cubic meters per day. This represents only 30 to 40 percent of pre-war levels, which once reached 300,000 cubic meters daily from three main sources. These sources include groundwater, seawater desalination plants, and supplies from Israel’s Mekorot company.
He added that damage to distribution networks has increased water loss from 30 percent before the war to between 50 and 60 percent today. This further complicates efforts by municipalities to deliver water to residents.
Currently, individuals in displacement camps relying on tankers receive no more than 10 liters per day. This is far below the World Health Organization recommended minimum of 100 liters per person daily.
“Transported water is highly vulnerable to contamination during delivery or through unsafe storage practices in camps which increases the risk of waterborne diseases under deteriorating environmental conditions,” al-Banna warned.
Notably, even before the war, 97 percent of Gaza’s groundwater wells already failed to meet safe drinking standards.
He concluded with a grave warning that the arrival of summer will dramatically increase water demand at a time when municipalities face critical shortages of fuel, spare parts, and chlorine needed to operate and disinfect water facilities. The ongoing blockade continues to obstruct any meaningful efforts to boost production or improve life-saving services.
In this bleak reality, Gaza’s water crisis is no longer merely a service shortage. It has become a silent threat to life. The risk of widespread outbreaks of intestinal and skin diseases is rising rapidly due to the mixing of sewage with accumulated waste.
This places the international community and humanitarian organizations before an urgent moral test. Immediate action is needed to push for the opening of crossings and the entry of fuel, chlorine, and essential equipment to repair what remains of the water infrastructure before thirst and disease claim even more lives in the devastated Strip.