The vast majority of Palestinians in Gaza have been displaced multiple times, and many are dying from Israeli-induced starvation. An unprecedented water crisis is also unfolding across the enclave, heaping further misery on its residents.
Gaza was already suffering a water crisis before nearly 22 months of Israeli bombardment and ground operations damaged more than 80 percent of the territory’s water infrastructure.
“Sometimes, I feel as though my body is drying from the inside. Thirst is stealing all my energy and that of my children,” said Um Nidal Abu Nahl, a mother of four living in Gaza City.
Water trucks occasionally reach residents, and NGOs install taps in camps for a fortunate few, but it is far from sufficient.
Israel reconnected some water mains in northern Gaza to the Israeli water company Mekorot after cutting off supplies early in the war, but residents said water still is not flowing.
Local authorities said this is due to war damage to Gaza’s water distribution network with many main pipes destroyed.
Gaza City spokesman Asem Alnabih said the municipality’s section of the network supplied by Mekorot has not functioned for nearly two weeks.
Wells that provided water for some needs before the war have also been damaged, and some are contaminated by sewage that is going untreated because of the conflict.
Many wells in Gaza are simply inaccessible because they are located within combat zones, too close to Israeli military installations or in areas subject to forced evacuation.
Wells usually run on electric pumps, and energy has been scarce since Israel cut Gaza’s power.
Generators could power the pumps, but hospitals are prioritised for the limited fuel deliveries.
Gaza’s desalination plants are out of operation except for a single site that reopened last week after Israel restored its electricity supply.
Alnabih said the situation with infrastructure was bleak.
More than 75 percent of wells are out of service, 85 percent of public works equipment has been destroyed, 100,000 metres (62 miles) of water mains have been damaged and 200,000 metres (124 miles) of sewage lines are unusable.
Pumping stations are out of action, and 250,000 tonnes of rubbish are clogging the streets.
To find water, hundreds of thousands of people are still trying to extract groundwater directly from wells.
However, coastal Gaza’s aquifer is naturally brackish and far exceeds salinity standards for potable water.
In 2021, UNICEF warned that nearly 100 percent of Gaza’s groundwater was unfit for consumption.
With clean water almost impossible to find, some Palestinians mistakenly believe brackish water to be free of bacteria.
Aid workers in Gaza have had to warn repeatedly that even if residents can become accustomed to the taste, their kidneys will inevitably suffer.
Although Gaza’s water crisis has received less media attention than the ongoing hunger crisis, its effects are just as deadly.
“Just like food, water should never be used for political ends,” UNICEF spokeswoman Rosalia Bollen said. While it is very difficult to quantify the water shortage, she said, “there is a severe lack of drinking water.”
“It is extremely hot, diseases are spreading, and water is truly the issue we are not talking about enough,” she added.