Palestinian engineers are struggling to repair Gaza’s water system, which has become contaminated and is posing a health threat.
Under the winter sun in Gaza City, crowds of Palestinians gather around water delivery trucks holding empty containers. For many neighborhoods devastated by Israel’s ongoing genocidal war, these vehicles are now the only reliable source of drinking water.
The Israeli military offensive, launched in October 2023, has destroyed large parts of Gaza’s water infrastructure. Throughout the war, Israel repeatedly bombed water pipelines and other civilian infrastructure. As a result, pumping stations have ceased to operate, and the heavy machinery required for essential repairs has fallen into ruin.
At the Yassin water station in northern Gaza, once a lifeline for thousands of residents, the facility is now barely functioning.
Officials warn that the damage at this site alone has left thousands without access to clean water, and that the pace of repairs has been slowed by a severe Israeli blockade of equipment and spare parts.
Despite an October 2025 “ceasefire”, Israel has continued to attack Gaza, killing more than 700 Palestinians, while maintaining a ban on aid and other goods entering Gaza – where 2.3 million people live, most of whom are displaced. Israel, which is hoping to withdraw from Gaza after the ceasefire, still controls more than half of Gaza.
There are many goods that Israel has banned or heavily restricted from entering Gaza. This includes machinery, construction materials and even medical equipment.
Last month, Israel allowed the partial reopening of the Rafah crossing – currently Gaza’s only gateway to the outside world – allowing a limited number of Palestinians to leave and enter the enclave.
The quest for survival under blockade
The United Nations estimates that approximately 70 percent of Gaza City’s water supply infrastructure is currently disrupted. Municipal corporation workers on the ground say the devastation has been systematic and deliberate.
“The occupation has destroyed more than 72 water wells in Gaza City,” municipality spokesman Hosni Afana told Al Jazeera. “More than 150,000 meters of water network has been destroyed along with four main reservoirs. The water system has been severely devastated.”
Efforts to restore the network are being actively hindered by Israeli military policies:
- Yellow Line Barrier: Repairs to the vital Mekorot water supply line have halted because the infrastructure lies east of the so-called “Yellow Line”, which demarcates Gaza territory under Israeli military control.
- Restrictions on dual use: Israel classifies many basic components needed to repair water and sanitation systems as “dual-use” items. This allows Israeli authorities to systematically block their entry into the besieged area on vaguely defined security grounds.
Denied access to new materials, municipal maintenance teams are forced to make do with whatever debris they can find.
“These pipes, connectors and fittings are essential for maintenance work,” said maintenance engineer Tariq Shuhaiber. “We are looking for whatever materials are left on the outskirts of the city and recycling them for repairs.”
Growing health and environmental disasters
The lack of clean water is creating a serious public health crisis across the belt. Doctors report a sharp increase in severe dehydration, kidney complications and widespread water-borne diseases.
“Water pollution seriously affects the health of patients,” Dr Ghazi al-Yazi, a physician at Al-Shifa hospital, told Al Jazeera. “It contains high levels of salts, nitrates, phosphorus and sulphur.”
This immediate medical emergency is rooted in a long-term environmental disaster.
A report by the UN Environment Program has already warned that the collapse of Gaza’s sewage treatment infrastructure and pipe systems is likely to cause serious contamination of the underground aquifer that supplies water to most of the enclave.
Furthermore, Palestinian officials have highlighted that Israel’s deliberate destruction of water and sanitation networks has poisoned groundwater and coastal waters, exacerbating the devastating effects of the genocidal campaign and leaving families to consume dangerous, polluted water because they have no other option.
The crisis is worsening due to widespread regional conflict. Two crossings – Karim Abu Salem (known as Kerem Shalom in Israel) and Rafah – have been partially opened, with Rafah being for humanitarian cases only. The Rafah crossing was closed following the US–Israel war over Iran, but has since reopened.
