Gaza Faces a Severe Water Crisis Amid Bombing and Siege

Amid the escalation of Israeli military operations and the ongoing suffocating siege on the Gaza Strip for months, international and local organizations warn of an imminent humanitarian disaster threatening the lives of more than two million people, as the water and drought crisis intensifies, alongside hunger and displacement that residents experience daily.

The Gaza Municipality confirmed today, Saturday, that the city is facing a severe thirst crisis, amid the near-total collapse of water and sewage systems, warning that the health and environmental situation is worsening with the increasing spread of epidemics and diseases resulting from water shortages.

The municipality indicated in a press statement that the amount of water currently available covers less than 25% of the daily needs of the city's residents, explaining that what is being provided includes:

_ 15,000 cups daily through the Israeli water line "Makrot" (which is an unstable and fluctuating amount).

_ 10,000 cups produced from local water wells that municipal crews can still access, in the city center and some limited areas.

Earlier, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) warned that the Gaza Strip is approaching a stage of dying of thirst, after about 60% of drinking water production facilities have malfunctioned and most sewage and desalination stations are out of service.

The organization's spokesperson James Elder from Geneva said:

"Children will begin to die of thirst. The fuel that pumping and desalination stations rely on to provide clean water is running out."

Gaza is experiencing a near-total paralysis in its water infrastructure, after the destruction of desalination stations, tanks, and pipes, due to continuous bombing.

Additionally, the ongoing electricity outage since March has caused most desalination stations to stop, while the prevention of fuel entry has disrupted what remains of vital facilities.

With the escalation of the Israeli attack on Gaza City since late August, mass displacement continues southward, as the Palestinian Civil Defense reported yesterday, Friday, that about 450,000 people have been displaced from the city towards the south of the Strip.

In contrast, the Israeli army estimated the number of displaced individuals at about 480,000, while residents face severe difficulties in leaving the city, with roads leading south congested and transportation costs rising, at a time when those roads are being bombed, posing an additional danger to civilians' lives.

The Gaza Municipality confirmed that what is happening is an escalation of an organized genocide, indicating that the worsening water crisis reflects the scale of the disaster that residents experience daily, amid a complete inability to meet basic living needs.

As the number of civilian casualties increases, local and international voices are rising to demand an end to the siege and to provide safe passages for humanitarian aid, especially water and fuel, before Gaza enters a point of no return.

In this catastrophic situation, life in Gaza remains suspended by a thin thread of water, food, and survival, as the conflict continues, and the danger increases for children, women, and the elderly, who live amid fear, hunger, and thirst.