In Gaza, getting enough water has become a daily struggle. Families carry buckets, queue for water trucks and ration supplies for drinking, cooking and bathing.
Children spend hours collecting water instead of attending school.
“Before the war, we did not have this struggle,” Hanadi Al Aff, a displaced Palestinian living with her five children in Gaza City, told the International Committee of the Red Cross in June.
“We save water and keep it for the most important thing, which is drinking, cooking and bathing the children,” she said.
Three years after Israel began its genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023, the territory’s water, sanitation and electricity systems remain severely damaged, leaving millions dependent on emergency supplies and infrastructure operating far below capacity.
According to figures cited by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in September, 91 percent of households experienced moderate-to-high water insecurity.
Nearly one-third had water access below minimum humanitarian standards, while 88 percent reported difficulties accessing safe sanitation facilities.
The damage caused by Israel’s attacks on the enclace is extensive: 88 percent of above-ground water, sanitation and hygiene assets and 76 percent of underground networks had been damaged, according to a separate report cited by the UN.
The Red Cross said water production had fallen to around 40 percent of pre-war levels.
Electricity shortages deepen the crisis
Water production remains vulnerable to disruptions. Supplies through three Israeli water lines fell about 40 percent below contracted quantities during a reporting period in late September, according to a UN humanitarian report.
A desalination plant in Deir al Balah was also operating below capacity because of a brine-pumping failure and heavy reliance on generators.
Electricity shortages further undermine water and sanitation services. UN figures cited in September indicated that 90 percent of energy infrastructure, including the electricity distribution network and related assets, had been destroyed.
Generators are essential to keeping remaining facilities running, but they depend on scarce fuel.
Unsafe water raises health risks
The shortage is compounded by concerns over water quality. In August, more than 73 percent of 938 water samples collected across Gaza failed to meet WHO-recommended levels for residual chlorine, while 18 percent showed microbiological contamination.
Reinhilde Van De Weerdt, the WHO representative in Palestine, said in September that microbiological contamination had risen from below 6 percent in January to more than 18 percent in August. Cases of acute watery diarrhoea nearly doubled over the same period.
Sanitation conditions are also deteriorating. Thirty-nine percent of assessed households reported solid waste accumulating around their shelters, while 36 percent observed sewage or sludge nearby.
Overcrowded displacement sites, unsafe latrines and poor drainage raise further concerns as the rainy season approaches.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has reported widespread illness linked to poor water and sanitation conditions, as well as psychological distress among people struggling to maintain hygiene and dignity.
Skin diseases accounted for nearly 18 percent of MSF primary healthcare consultations in 2025, while poor water and sanitation conditions have also contributed to the spread of scabies and lice.
Aid groups warn of deliberate deprivation
MSF also said in April that Israeli authorities had used water access as a weapon against Palestinians in Gaza, describing the deprivation as part of a pattern of collective punishment.
The organisation cited damage to infrastructure, restrictions on humanitarian access and the blocking or delay of essential supplies.
It also said its clearly identified water trucks and boreholes had been shot at or destroyed.
“Since 1 January 2026, all MSF requests for the entry of any supplies through the dedicated system, where approval is determined by the Israeli authorities, were denied,” the organisation said.
Humanitarian partners continue to repair infrastructure and use alternative water sources, but shortages of fuel, generators, spare parts, chlorine and other essential supplies threaten remaining services.
For families in Gaza, recovery means restoring basic necessities: safe drinking water, functioning sanitation and reliable electricity.
For children like those in Al Aff’s family, it could also mean putting down the water bucket and returning to school.
