DaysofPal- Despite the end of the Israeli military aggression in the Gaza Strip, the suffering of its people continues unabated.
The Israeli occupation’s ongoing closure of crossings and prohibition on the entry of fuel needed to operate desalination plants and water pumping wells have exacerbated an already dire crisis in access to clean drinking water and basic daily necessities.
This deliberate deprivation has turned thirst into a weapon, inflicting a silent humanitarian disaster upon the besieged population.
A Struggle for Survival
In neighborhoods across Gaza, scenes of residents carrying empty jugs and buckets in search of scarce water sources have become all too common.
Muhammad Shawarb, 44, is one such citizen who returned to his destroyed home in the Al-Nasr neighborhood after being forcibly displaced.
He expressed his anguish to Palestine Online: “Every day, I have to carry buckets and walk long distances in search of water for bathing, ablution, and washing. But for more than a week, I haven’t even been able to wash my face. The well I relied on has stopped working because it requires fuel, and fuel is prohibited from entering.”
Muhammad’s plight mirrors that of tens of thousands of families returning to their ruined homes, which lack even the most basic necessities of life.
Abdullah Hashish, a resident of the northern beach area, spends countless hours each day securing meager amounts of water for his family. Exhausted, he told Palestine Online : “We spend all day searching for a drop of water. This is not fair. We appeal to the international community and all the free people of the world to pressure the Israeli occupation to open the crossings and allow fuel to enter to operate the water wells.”
Mohammed Rashid, the head of a family of five, echoes this sentiment. Once reliant on water trucks, he now finds himself waiting in vain for days without respite. “I’ve started hoping for just one truck to come so I can fill my water tank, which only lasts for a few hours for my family,” Rashid said. His mornings are spent hoping for relief, while fruitless searches between neighborhoods consume his days.
A Comprehensive Humanitarian Disaster
The Union of Municipalities in the Gaza Strip has issued stark warnings about the impending collapse of essential services due to prolonged power outages and the blockade. In a recent statement, the union highlighted how the shutdown of the central desalination plant and widespread power failures threaten the lives of Palestinians, exacerbating both health and environmental crises.
Omar Shatat, Deputy Director General of the Coastal Municipalities Water Utility, noted in a press release that the production capacity of the desalination plant in central Gaza has plummeted from 18,000 cubic meters per day to less than 3,000 cubic meters following the power outage. According to the Government Media Office, Israeli forces have systematically destroyed approximately 330,000 meters of water networks and rendered 717 wells inoperable over the past 16 months.
Human Rights Watch has condemned Israeli policy of “deprivation,” linking it to severe health complications and the deaths of thousands of Palestinians. Similarly, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has warned of an unprecedented humanitarian and health catastrophe threatening the survival of more than two million people in Gaza.
Appeal to the International Community
As the crisis deepens, Gazans and local authorities alike are calling on the international community to intervene urgently.
The Union of Municipalities has urged global actors to secure electricity and water supplies and ensure the continued operation of vital facilities to avert further deterioration. Preventing the entry of fuel, building materials, and spare parts, it argued, undermines municipalities’ ability to provide essential services and risks the total collapse of infrastructure.
For the people of Gaza, the struggle is not merely for water, but for dignity and the right to live like other human beings. As Rashid poignantly stated, “We just want to live with dignity. We want to drink, to bathe, to live like all other people.”
This humanitarian disaster underscores the urgent need for action to address the root causes of Gaza’s suffering.
Until the blockade is lifted, and fundamental rights are restored, the people of Gaza will continue to endure the cruel irony of living amidst abundance—surrounded by the sea yet denied access to its life-sustaining resources.
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