GAZA, (PIC)
Every morning, Nawaf al-Akhras begins his day carrying water containers and plastic jugs alongside his eldest son, heading toward a filling point about a mile from their tent in the al-Mawasi area in southern Gaza. It is a short journey in distance, but one that turns daily into a long ordeal, as they arrive at a station crowded with thousands of displaced people waiting their turn under the blazing sun.
Nawaf, a father of seven who was displaced from Rafah to al-Mawasi nearly two years ago, describes the daily trip as “continuous suffering.” Waiting times can stretch to five hours or more just to secure the minimum amount of water his family needs. “My whole day is spent with my son in the water line,” he says. “People come from far away… this is daily torment just to get drinking water.”
The water crisis has worsened in recent weeks after a company that had been supplying clean water to displaced families across large parts of Gaza stopped operating due to a lack of funding, according to Nawaf. He explains that water tankers used to arrive near the tents almost every day, easing the burden of searching for and transporting water. “But for weeks now, those trucks have stopped coming, and our suffering to obtain drinking water has doubled.”
Amid severe overcrowding, Nawaf can barely fill two small jugs because of the intense competition among displaced residents at the filling points. “It’s as if we survived death by hunger, and now they are testing us with death by thirst… this is what remains for us,” he says. The small amount of water they manage to obtain is enough only for basic drinking needs, forcing the family to ration consumption to an extreme degree.
Like thousands of displaced Palestinians, Nawaf fears the crisis will worsen as summer approaches and temperatures rise, especially given the harsh conditions inside the tents. “I can’t describe the suffering of summer here,” he says. “We feel like we’re frying in a pan. There’s no roof to protect us and nothing shielding our children from the heat. With the shortage of drinking water, the situation will definitely become catastrophic.”
A daily struggle for survival
Nawaf’s story reflects the broader reality across Gaza, where obtaining water is no longer just a basic necessity but a daily battle for survival amid shrinking supplies, growing displacement, and collapsing infrastructure. This reality aligns with findings in a report by Médecins Sans Frontières titled Weaponizing Water, which documents how water has become a tool of pressure and daily suffering within a wider pattern of undermining the conditions necessary for life.
Across Gaza’s devastated streets, long lines at water trucks have become a constant daily scene. Hundreds of Palestinians wait for hours amid severe shortages, while scuffles frequently break out because of the limited quantities available.
Field testimonies indicate that many families now survive on only a few liters a day reserved strictly for drinking, while bathing and washing clothes have largely become impossible. This has contributed to the spread of skin diseases and infections, trends also highlighted in the report as major consequences of the crisis.
The report paints a grim picture of more than 2.1 million Palestinians facing thirst, disease, and the collapse of essential infrastructure in what it describes as one of the worst humanitarian disasters in recent history. Its significance lies in the fact that it comes from an international humanitarian organization operating directly inside Gaza and relies on operational data and firsthand testimonies that are difficult to dismiss.
According to the report, Gaza’s water crisis is not the result of a temporary emergency but the outcome of a policy that has unfolded over nearly thirty months. It cites the destruction of water and sewage facilities, restrictions on the entry of equipment, maintenance materials, fuel, and chlorine, all of which have crippled access to clean water.
Numbers and testimonies exposing deliberate deprivation
The report documents the scale of the disaster in stark figures, noting that around 90% of Gaza’s water and sanitation infrastructure, including wells, desalination plants, and pipeline networks, has been damaged or destroyed. Water prices have risen by as much as 500% at a time when most families have lost their income, making access to water an unbearable burden.
In scenes repeated daily, water distribution points run dry while civilians are still waiting in line, forcing many families either to reduce consumption or rely on unsafe water sources. The consequences extend far beyond thirst, fueling a major public health crisis marked by rising cases of diarrhea, skin diseases, and scabies, particularly among children.
The report carries broader significance because it forms part of a series documenting the use of humanitarian necessities as tools of pressure. The organization had previously warned about attacks on Gaza’s healthcare system and the use of starvation tactics. This latest report argues that water has now also become part of what it describes as mechanisms of collective destruction.
Together, these reports paint a deeply alarming picture: food, medicine, and water, the very essentials of survival, have increasingly become instruments of pressure on civilians.
Service collapse without accountability
According to Gaza Municipality, about 85% of Gaza’s residents no longer have access to clean water, while water services are operating at only 25% of required capacity. The crisis deepened further after the shutdown of the Israeli “Mekorot” water line, which had supplied more than 70% of residents’ needs, alongside the destruction of local water sources and restrictions preventing the import of equipment needed for repairs.
Yahya al-Sarraj, head of the Gaza Municipalities Union, says the water crisis has become an urgent priority, but available supplies meet only 25–30% of actual needs. He identifies three main challenges: the depletion of water sources, the inability to repair damaged networks, and the growing sewage disposal crisis.
Municipalities receive daily pleas for water assistance but are unable to meet demand. Families, especially women and children, are often forced to carry water long distances using primitive methods that place enormous strain on them.
Under international humanitarian law, depriving civilians of essential resources or using starvation and siege tactics against them raises serious concerns about grave violations. In this context, the Weaponizing Water report is more than a humanitarian assessment, it is an ethical and legal indictment.
The report places the international community before a direct responsibility. Gaza’s catastrophe is no longer hidden; it is documented through figures and firsthand testimonies. The question that remains is: how long will the world continue merely observing the tragedy while civilians are left to face thirst, hunger, and disease alone?
