People line up for hours to fill jerrycans with water that is making them sick

Source:  WSJ Margherita Stancati and  Abeer Ayyoub 

Aug. 16, 2025 11:00 pm ET

In Gaza, the humanitarian crisis extends beyond food shortages to a severe lack of clean water. Nearly two years of war have devastated much of the enclave’s water infrastructure, forcing residents to walk long distances and wait hours for limited supplies from wells and water trucks. Families ration what little they have, often drinking contaminated groundwater despite health risks.

Hygiene has deteriorated sharply. Many residents go days without washing, and some resort to seawater. Soap is scarce, and infectious diseases are spreading. “We drink one cup of water a day,” said Iman Masri, a mother of four living in a tent near Khan Younis. Her family depends on a water truck that arrives every other day and a nearby well. When deliveries fail, they drink untreated water, leading to illness.

The World Health Organization’s emergency standard is 15 liters of water per person per day, yet many in Gaza survive on as little as two liters. Israel has allowed more aid trucks and recently reconnected Gaza’s main desalination plant to electricity, while reopening a pipeline to northern Gaza. However, humanitarian workers stress that these steps are insufficient to address the scale of the crisis.

Before the conflict, Gaza relied on groundwater wells, desalination plants, and pipelines from Israel. All three sources are now severely disrupted. According to UNICEF, 255 of 392 wells are inoperable or inaccessible, and water production has fallen by 70% due to fuel shortages. Limited fuel and electricity prevent trucks, pumps, and treatment plants from operating effectively.

Aid organizations supply the daily water needs of about 1.4 million people, but demand far exceeds capacity. Residents often pay high prices for nondrinking water—up to $300 to fill a 600-gallon tank. To ease shortages, the United Arab Emirates is funding new pipelines from Egypt to southern Gaza, designed to provide water to 600,000 people. Yet the project will take time to complete, and conditions continue to deteriorate.

The humanitarian situation worsened after Israel restricted aid flows from March to May, intensifying shortages of food, fuel, and basic supplies. Israeli officials said the measures aimed to pressure Hamas, though they deny a starvation policy. Still, residents describe the water crisis as the most urgent threat.

“Here in Gaza, we suffer from many things, but the most important is the water crisis,” said Balsam Khalaf, a widow in Gaza City. “A person can endure hunger. But without water, we cannot survive.”