Human Wrongs Watch
By the Norwegian Refugee Council* | Text and design: Roald Høvring
Since October 2023, Israel has repeatedly attacked water facilities, wells, pipelines, desalination units and sewage systems in Gaza.
Most of Gaza’s water and sanitation infrastructure has now been damaged or destroyed by Israel’s forces, leaving 96 per cent of households without enough water to cover even basic needs.
A girl and a boy fill up containers from the remaining water still left in underground pipes in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip.
From bad to worse
“During the 58 days of ceasefire starting 19 January, we provided safe drinking water to over 130,000 people across 73 sites. But after Israel imposed a near-total siege and resumed hostilities, we were only able to provide water across 27 displacement sites,” says Danish Malik, NRC’s global roving emergency water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) specialist.
The situation is going from bad to worse, Malik explains: “Gaza lacks fuel, and we lack funds. With less fuel, the water prices increase by 2–3 times, and currently we only have funding for our water trucking through October. In a couple months we may have to reduce our water trucking from 27 to 11 sites.”
The alarm has gone off
UN experts have expressed alarm at Israel’s deliberate withholding of access to safe drinking water from Palestinians in Gaza, calling it a serious violation of international law and a crime against humanity. According to the UN experts: “Israel is using thirst as a weapon to kill Palestinians.”
Choosing between washing and drinking
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a daily minimum of 15 litres per person in emergencies, for drinking, cooking and sanitation.
However, NRC is only able to supply six litres a day for drinking and cooking, based on guidance from the national WASH cluster, as Israel only allows in a fraction of the fuel needed to run water treatment plants and water trucks.
One of our teams in Gaza distributes water using water trucks. Photo: Amjad Al Fayoumi/NRC
The lack of clean water has led to a rise in preventable skin conditions, such as scabies. Without the ability to bathe regularly, particularly in the summer, children are more vulnerable to infections that spread easily through close contact, leaving painful symptoms and, in some cases, permanent scarring.
Forty per cent of households lack soap, and 97 per cent are unable to access certain hygiene items due to high costs and insufficient distributions. Seventy-eight per cent of households are facing barriers to using a toilet or latrine.
Salma Altaweel, NRC’s northern Gaza office manager in front of her destroyed home in Gaza City. Photo: Salma Altaweel/NRC
On the other side of the border, in Egypt, NRC has 120 trucks worth of hygiene items waiting to enter. Israel recently denied our request to bring these items in.
“For us Palestinians in Gaza, this means we have to choose between washing or drinking. Every day, hundreds of people are roaming the streets with empty water containers in hand, waiting for some water truck to show up…
… Often, the water truck never arrives, and people are forced to drink unsafe water. This is how humanity is stripped away from Palestinians – one sip of water at a time,” says Salma Altaweel, NRC’s northern Gaza office manager.
“For us Palestinians in Gaza, this means we have to choose between washing or drinking.” Salma Altaweel
Making a difference
But there are some glimmers of hope. Since 28 September 2024, NRC has provided safe water through water trucking to 4,200 individuals at the Amal Institute for Orphans which has become a shelter for displaced people in Gaza City.
Now, thanks to the German Federal Foreign Office (GFFO), we have installed pipes and connected the site directly to a desalination plant. As a result, families have access to safe water both in the morning and in the evening.
Water trucking is expensive: it’s labour intensive and relies on stable fuel supplies. A daily water trucking supply to the Amal site costs USD 1,250 a day. By contrast, the total pipe installation with taps costs USD 1,500.
NRC procured the pipes and fittings needed to complete the work and recruited plumbers from the site to create the water network.
The work also included the installation of three water bladders with a total capacity of 15 cubic metres.
Some 4,200 individuals now have access to safe water directly from the tap. The system is supplying a total of 30 cubic metres of water per day, covering people’s daily drinking and cooking needs.
Water in the morning and evening
“Thank God, NRC didn’t abandon us and provided us with safe drinking water. In the beginning, it was delivered by water trucks, but now we have taps. What’s even better, the water is now available both in the morning and in the evening, meaning we don’t experience water shortages at all,” says Umm Mohammad Jundiyeh, a displaced woman from the Shuja’iyya neighbourhood.
Umm Mohammad Anbar, a displaced woman from eastern Shuja’iyya in Gaza, says:
“Before, when the water we received in the morning wasn’t enough, we used to go buy a gallon of water for 4 shekels (about 1,19 USD), and honestly, we couldn’t afford those 4 shekels. Today, with water available even in the afternoon, no-one is going without water.”
Photo: Nasser Harara/NRC
Despite immense challenges, NRC has provided water, sanitation, and hygiene support to over 540,000 people in Gaza since 7 October 2023.
Our work includes:
- supplying 315 cubic metres of safe drinking water daily
- distributing more than 27,000 dignity, hygiene, and cleaning kits
- removing solid waste from displacement sites, improving conditions for over 70,000 people
- installing 180 latrines with handwashing facilities
Learn more about how we help people gain access to clean water and sanitation facilities
*SOURCE: The Norwegian Refugee Council. Go to ORIGINAL: https://www.nrc.no/feature/2025/water-crisis-in-gaza-precious-drops-that-save-lives
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