Water is life, and there is little of it in Gaza
Palestinians in the devastated Gaza Strip who survived the winter floods sweeping through tented encampments that caused babies to die of hypothermia must now endure the blistering heat of summer without sufficient water to sustain health and life itself.
According to the UN, 7.5 liters of water per person per day is the absolute baseline for survival, while 15 – 20 liters per person is the recommended amount for drinking, washing and hygiene. In Gaza, the Coastal Municipal Water Utility (CMWU) aided by the International Committee of the Red Cross is struggling to make 6 liters per day per person available for much of the population.
Since 2016, the ‘Water Facts’ produced by the Alliance for Water Justice in Palestine have documented the severe water crisis facing the Gaza Strip. That crisis has now turned deadly. The CMWU reports that given the destruction of desalination plants and pipelines, and Israel’s refusal to allow the entry of materials to fix the smashed infrastructure as well as the fuel needed to run water storage and distribution networks, Gaza only has 40% of the amount of clean water that had been produced before October 2023. Many Palestinians are forced to rely on water from damaged and polluted wells and other contaminated sources.
In its report for June 12, 2026, OCHA states that over 70% of Gaza’s population relies on trucked water, but Israel’s restrictions and funding shortfalls “are putting this supply at risk.” Four humanitarian agencies are now phasing out their trucking operations “leaving over 330,000 people across approximately 250 sites at risk of losing their primary drinking source.”
The acute water shortage, open sewage flowing among he tents and the refusal of Israel to permit the entry of machinery necessary to clear Gaza’s mountains of garbage and rubble have led to an escalation of water-borne diseases such as gastroenteritis and severe diarrhoea, causing dangerous dehydration. A collapsing health care system that lacks basic medications, intravenous fluids, laboratory supplies and even sufficient clean water for handwashing is not able to cope with the urgent physical needs.
In the words of one Gaza resident, “We are not afraid only of bombs or starvation. We are now afraid of the food we eat and the water we drink.”