Soaring temperatures and blockade drive Gaza toward water collapse
In a statement posted Sunday on its official X account, the municipality described the conditions as catastrophic, attributing the crisis to the near-total destruction of Gaza's water infrastructure by Israeli occupation forces (IOF) since October 7, 2023.
According to the municipality, nearly 75% of Gaza's water wells have been destroyed, while the few that remain are barely functional due to a crippling fuel shortage. The situation has been further exacerbated by Israel's repeated suspension of water pumping through the Israeli national water company Mekorot.
These disruptions have left entire neighborhoods in Gaza parched and dangerously underserved, raising fears of a looming health and environmental disaster.
'The current supply is drastically below the city's basic needs, putting tens of thousands of lives at risk,' the municipality stated.
Gaza currently receives only around 35,000 cups of water daily, less than a third of the 120,000 cups supplied before the war. Of this, roughly 20,000 cups are sourced from Mekorot, and just 15,000 from municipal wells, which are limited to a few hours of operation per day due to the fuel and electricity crisis. A marginal amount is also extracted from private wells, though access is minimal.
Municipal officials have urgently appealed to humanitarian agencies to intervene by supplying emergency fuel, rehabilitating damaged infrastructure, and helping restore water access.
Over the past 20 months, Israeli airstrikes and ground operations have destroyed large portions of Gaza's water infrastructure, including pipelines, desalination plants, and distribution networks. The Palestinian Water Authority and health officials say the damage has rendered access to clean, safe drinking water 'almost impossible.'
Before the war, Gaza's per capita water consumption was about 84.6 liters per day; now, it is between 3 and 5 liters, far less than the WHO's emergency minimum of 20 liters per day.
'Israel's genocidal war on Gaza has executed all aspects of life,' said Ayman al-Ramlawi, Director of the Department of Environmental Health and Occupational Safety at the Ministry of Health in Gaza.
'The water and sanitation sector is one of the most prominent sectors affected by the war, especially as it is directly related to the reality of public health in the Gaza Strip.'
The Water Authority echoed these concerns in a recent statement: 'The occupation's destruction of infrastructure, electricity cuts, and prevention of the entry of fuel and basic supplies led to an almost complete cessation of water services.'
The agency warned that Gaza has effectively become 'a thirsty area.'
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) reported on May 9 that 65 to 70 percent of Gaza's water infrastructure has been destroyed. Due to these conditions, water must now be distributed by truck, a method severely hampered by fuel shortages.
'Children are bearing the brunt of this war,' said a UNICEF aid worker involved in water distribution. 'We see tragic scenes daily of children dying of hunger and thirst, walking dozens of kilometers in search of a bite or a drop of water.'
The aid worker added, 'Ninety percent of families face great difficulty in obtaining sufficient drinking water and are even unable to secure water to clean a newborn baby.'
Health officials have also raised concerns about the rising risks of illness brought on by unhygienic conditions. The Palestinian Water Authority warned of the contamination of rainwater basins with wastewater and the discharge of sewage into residential areas.
Ramlawi emphasized that 'the minimum amount of water available is not sufficient for personal hygiene,' resulting in the spread of serious illnesses. including diarrhea, hepatitis A, polio, and kidney disease linked to contaminated water and crops irrigated with sewage.
Compounding the crisis, Israel has continued to block aid trucks at border crossings since March 2, leaving humanitarian supplies, including fuel and water treatment equipment, stranded and inaccessible. The closure has further plunged the Gaza Strip, home to 2.4 million people, into famine conditions.
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