Gaza’s Deepening Water Catastrophe: Families Risk Illness to Survive Scorching Heat
Gaza’s Deepening Water Catastrophe: Families Risk Illness to Survive Scorching Heat
As searing August temperatures grip the Gaza Strip, hundreds of thousands of displaced families are facing a dire choice: drink dangerously contaminated water or succumb to extreme thirst. In sprawling displacement camps like Muwasi, a grim routine has emerged, with residents enduring long waits under the sun for murky, often disease-ridden water, knowing full well the health risks involved.
The humanitarian crisis has escalated dramatically, with parents like Rana Odeh forced to ration polluted water for their children, acknowledging it causes widespread illness. The situation is exacerbated by a crippling lack of infrastructure; after 22 months of conflict, Gaza’s water access has been severely strained. Desalination plants operate below capacity, pipelines are damaged, and vital wells are inaccessible or destroyed, leaving aquifers polluted by sewage and debris.
This desperate scarcity has directly fueled a rampant spread of infectious diseases. UNRWA reports an average of 10,300 patients weekly with infectious diseases, predominantly diarrhea from contaminated water. UNICEF highlights a surge in acute watery diarrhea, accounting for 44% of reported illnesses by July, up from less than 20% in February, raising alarm over severe dehydration, particularly among children.
Despite some recent steps by Israel to restore water deliveries and reconnect a desalination plant, the supply remains critically low, averaging less than three liters per person per day—a fraction of the 15 liters humanitarian groups deem essential for basic survival. Aid organizations warn that future military operations could further disrupt fragile access to water and other vital aid, deepening the suffering for a population already at breaking point.
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