As Gaza endures relentless airstrikes, mass displacement, and widespread hunger, a catastrophic water crisis is pushing the besieged enclave to the brink. Already strained before the war, the territory’s water infrastructure has now been devastated after nearly 22 months of Israeli genocide, leaving Palestinians in a daily struggle for survival.

In Gaza City, residents describe the crisis in desperate terms. “Sometimes, I feel like 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, speaking to AFP.

Sporadic aid efforts, such as water trucks or makeshift taps in displaced persons camps, offer only limited relief.

Residents say no water has reached their homes in days, forcing families to rely on unsafe sources amid scorching heat. Officials attribute the crisis to extensive war damage across Gaza’s shattered internal distribution network. Assem al-Nabih, spokesperson for Gaza City’s municipality, said the Mekorot-supplied sector has been bone dry for nearly two weeks, leaving entire neighborhoods parched and desperate. 

Wells damaged, contaminated, or inaccessible

Pre-war water sources, including vital wells, have been deliberately compromised, either destroyed by Israeli strikes, contaminated with untreated sewage, or made inaccessible due to ongoing bombardment. Many lie within active combat zones or near Israeli military positions, while others fall under forced evacuation orders imposed by the occupation.

Even functioning wells require electricity for pumping, but Gaza’s power grid has been largely disabled since "Israel" cut off supply at the start of the genocide. Hospitals now receive priority for the scarce fuel available to run generators.

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Only one desalination plant operational

Desalination, once a crucial water source for Gaza, has ground to a halt. Of several plants that once served the enclave, only one has resumed limited operations after "Israel" temporarily restored electricity to the facility last week.

The scale of the infrastructural collapse is staggering. According to Nabih, more than 75% of Gaza’s wells are out of commission, 85% of public works machinery has been destroyed, and around 200,000 meters of sewer lines are no longer usable. “Sewage floods the areas where people live due to the destruction of infrastructure,” said Mohammed Abu Sukhayla from Jabalia in the north.

Desperate for water, many Palestinians resort to drawing groundwater directly from wells. But Gaza’s coastal aquifer is naturally brackish and far exceeds safe salinity levels. A 2021 UNICEF report had already warned that nearly all of Gaza’s groundwater was unfit for human consumption. Misconceptions persist, however. Some residents mistakenly believe brackish water is free from bacteria. Aid workers have repeatedly cautioned that while people might tolerate the taste, it can severely damage kidneys over time.

Public health risks mounting

Though it has drawn less international media attention than the hunger crisis, the water shortage is proving just as deadly. “Just like food, water should never be used for political ends,” said UNICEF spokesperson Rosalia Bollen. She warned of a “severe lack of drinking water,” adding, “It’s extremely hot, diseases are spreading, and water is truly the issue we’re not talking about enough.”

Accessing water often comes at a deadly cost. On July 13, an Israeli strike hit a crowd gathered at a distribution point in al-Nuseirat refugee camp, killing at least eight people, according to Gaza’s civil defense authorities.

A pipeline project spearheaded by the United Arab Emirates and greenlit by the Israeli occupation seeks to transfer water from an Egyptian desalination plant to the southern coastal zone of al-Mawasi. While the initiative offers limited and temporary relief, humanitarian organizations have condemned it for potentially entrenching the forced displacement and confinement of Palestinians into a narrow, overcrowded enclave under "Israel’s" ongoing siege.

On July 24, a coalition of Gaza’s leading families issued an urgent appeal demanding “the immediate provision of water and humanitarian aid, the rapid repair of infrastructure, and a guarantee for the entry of fuel.”

Aid workers on the ground emphasized the impossibility of disease prevention without clean water and sanitation.

For many of Gaza's residents, simply finding water has become a dangerous and demoralizing task. “We know it’s polluted, but what can we do?” said Mahmoud Deeb, 35, from Gaza City. “I used to go to water distribution points carrying heavy jugs on my back, but even those places were bombed.” At home, thirst grips his family, an experience he associates with “fear and helplessness.” He added, “You become unable to think or cope with anything.”