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Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Gaza City, said there is a water crisis across the Gaza Strip.
“Even though water is not suitable for drinking as most of the time it’s contaminated, thirst is pushing people to these areas,” he said, referring to Nuseirat.
“This is not the first time it’s happening. This is close to 10 times and just in the past few months when people were directly and deliberately targeted as they were trying to get water.”
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Water Fact, July 14, 2025
“We are now so far below the emergency threshold for
water. It is in critical shortage now, and it is controlled
entirely by Israel. Since electricity to Gaza was cut after the
horrors of October 7, diesel became essential to treat and
distribute water, but there’s been a hundred-plus-day
blockade on fuel coming into Gaza. We’ve got to a point
where, if that doesn’t change or if the electricity isn’t turned
back on, which would solve a lot of problems, you’ll start to
see children dying of thirst. Water was something that really,
really struck me, because it’s absolutely political, not
logistical. If Israel allowed fuel or turned on the power for
these desalination plants, that problem would be solved…
The most lethal crisis isn’t just hunger or thirst - it’s the brutal
collision of both. And those deaths are often not recorded.”
James Elder, UNICEF’s global spokesperson, quoted in Isaac Chotiner, ’The War on Gaza’s Children,’ The New Yorker, July 7, 2025. On July 10, nearly a month after Elder’s visit,, the UN announced that Israel permitted it to deliver the first shipment of fuel to Gaza in 130 days. It was not enough to meet even a single day’s demand.
Nancy Murray
New York/ Geneva/ Rome/ Gaza, July 12, 2025 - The United Nations warns that the fuel shortage in Gaza has reached critical levels.
Fuel is the backbone of survival in Gaza. It powers hospitals, water systems, sanitation networks, ambulances, and every aspect of humanitarian operations. Fuel supplies are needed to move the fleet used for transporting essential goods across the Strip and to operate a network of bakeries producing fresh bread for the affected population. Without fuel, these lifelines will vanish for 2.1 million people.
After almost two years of war, people in Gaza are facing extreme hardships, including widespread food insecurity. When fuel runs out, it places an unbearable new burden on a population teetering on the edge of starvation.
Without adequate fuel, UN agencies responding to this crisis will likely be forced to stop their operations entirely, directly impacting all essential services in Gaza. This means no health services, no clean water, and no capacity to deliver aid.
Without adequate fuel, Gaza faces a collapse of humanitarian efforts. Hospitals are already going dark, maternity, neonatal and intensive care units are failing, and ambulances can no longer move. Roads and transport will remain blocked, trapping those in need. Telecommunications will shut down, crippling lifesaving coordination and cutting families off from critical information, and from one another.
Without fuel, bakeries and community kitchens cannot operate. Water production and sanitation systems will shut down, leaving families without safe drinking water, while solid waste and sewage pile up in the streets. These conditions expose families to deadly disease outbreaks and push Gaza’s most vulnerable even closer to death.
For the first time in 130 days, a small amount of fuel entered Gaza this week. This is a welcome development, but it is a small fraction of what is needed each day to keep daily life and critical aid operations running.
The United Nations agencies and humanitarian partners cannot overstate the urgency of this moment: fuel must be allowed into Gaza in sufficient quantities and consistently to sustain life-saving operations.
