Gaza is experiencing a severe water crisis as shortages of potable water and sanitation services reach unprecedented levels amid ongoing conflict and infrastructural damage. Residents across the enclave are struggling to meet basic hydration and hygiene needs, with aid agencies and health officials warning of long-term environmental and public health consequences.
In Gaza City’s seafront neighborhoods, residents like 40-year-old mother Ibtisam Al-Helou face daily hardship in their search for fresh water. Although living near the Mediterranean, which remains unsuitable for consumption, Al-Helou must travel considerable distances—often before the midday heat peaks at 33 degrees Celsius—to areas such as Al-Mina, Al-Amadi, and Abu Mazen where water distribution occasionally occurs. She reports receiving water only once every three days for her household, which includes nine children in total.
The crisis has drastically altered daily life throughout Gaza. Prior to the conflict, average water consumption stood at around 85 liters per person per day, a level that has now plummeted to as low as 4.3 liters per person daily according to data from Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). The United Nations estimates that more than half of Gaza’s 2.6 million residents—approximately 1.3 million people—have access to fewer than six liters of drinking water each day. Many rely on heavily salted water for bathing and laundry, while shortages of clean water and soap severely hamper hygiene practices.
Health officials are raising alarms about the worsening conditions. Untreated sewage from hundreds of thousands of cesspits is contaminating Gaza’s coastal aquifer, the enclave’s sole natural freshwater source. This contamination exacerbates the spread of illnesses including acute respiratory infections, skin diseases, and diarrheal conditions. MSF’s surveillance data indicate that these three categories account for the majority of recorded health cases: 46 percent for respiratory infections, 31 percent for skin diseases, and 21 percent for acute watery diarrhea.
Families living in overcrowded, disease-prone tent camps are forced to queue for hours to obtain small quantities of water delivered by truck, which must navigate rubble-strewn streets. Efforts to distribute water are complicated by the extensive destruction of infrastructure, according to Alessandro Mrakic, head of the UN Development Program in Gaza. “It is a very difficult, complex operation because you need to go through rubble,” he said. “You need to reach the population where it is.”
The worsening water shortage also affects children’s daily activities. Al-Helou described how her children, who once bathed several times a day, now wash at most once weekly. Many children swim in the sea to cool off, but their mother warned that saltwater exposure leads to skin problems requiring costly treatments.
Palestinian authorities emphasize that the crisis extends beyond immediate shortages, highlighting that ongoing damage to water and sanitation infrastructure risks environmental degradation and public health challenges that may persist for decades if unresolved. As temperatures rise under the summer sun, concerns intensify over the compounded impact on Gaza’s vulnerable population.