Khan Younis, Gaza Strip – Nawaf al-Akhras starts his day by carrying bottles and jerrycans with his older son to a water filling station about one and a half kilometers (0.9 mi) from their tent in the al-Mawasi camp in southern Gaza.
On arrival, he was met by a crowd of thousands of people at the station, waiting for their turn under the scorching sun.
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Nawaf, a father of seven who was displaced from Rafah to al-Mawasi two years ago, describes the daily journey, which can last five hours or more, as a torment for his family, and for other Palestinians displaced as a result of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.
“My whole day with my son is spent waiting in line to fill water, with people coming from very far away,” Nawaf told Al Jazeera. “This is daily suffering, just so we can drink water.”
Water shortages have worsened recently in many areas of Gaza, including al-Mawasi, when Eta – a company that provides clean and potable water to displaced people in the Strip from Rafah to Beit Hanoun – ceased operations due to lack of funding.
“Water trucks came to the tents almost daily and eased the burden of collecting and transporting water,” says Nawaf.
“But for several weeks now, these trucks have stopped, and our struggle to get drinking water has doubled.”
Nawaf says he is barely able to fill two small jerrycans due to the huge crowd and intense competition among displaced people to reach the filling stations.
Nawaf says, “We died of hunger and now they are testing us to death with thirst… this is all that is left.”
“Two jerrycans are barely enough for my family’s daily drinking needs, forcing us to ration even drinking water,”
Nawaf and other displaced residents fear that the water crisis will worsen, especially with the arrival of summer and rising temperatures.
Nawaf says, “I won’t even begin to describe the agony of the summer in the tent… It feels like we are literally frying in a frying pan… There is no roof to protect us or our children’s bodies… And now, with the shortage of drinking water, things will definitely be disastrous.”
protests
Severe water shortages in Al-Mawasi have prompted residents to organize protests. Hundreds of displaced people took part in a similar protest on Saturday, 5 April, demanding an end to the worsening drinking water crisis amid harsh humanitarian conditions, as Israel continues to block substantial aid from entering Gaza.
They have called on international institutions and local authorities to intervene to prevent further deterioration, stressing the need for an immediate response to save the lives of thousands of children and the elderly, and saying that access to clean water is a fundamental human right.
Salah al-Koush, a resident of al-Mawasi and one of the participants in the protests, told Al Jazeera that the struggle to find water has become a daily nightmare as water trucks that once provided a limited supply have ceased operating.
He said his displaced family of 13 has been forced to buy “utility water” with high salt content for drinking, cooking and daily use, even though it is not generally considered safe to drink.
“The current crisis has forced many displaced people here to use contaminated water,” he said.
“I fear for my four children; every day there are cases of children falling ill due to water pollution in the camp.”
damaged infrastructure
Al-Mawasi, which lies west of Khan Yunis, has transformed during the war from a sparsely populated agricultural strip into one of the most densely populated areas.
After previously hosting only a few thousand residents, hundreds of thousands of displaced people moved into al-Mawasi after it was designated a so-called “safe zone” by Israeli forces during Israel’s genocidal war. Despite being under attack and lacking the infrastructure to house large numbers, thousands of Palestinians displaced from other parts of Gaza moved there, and lived in overcrowded tents.
Population growth has deepened the water crisis, which the United Nations has described as catastrophic.
According to UN human rights experts, most of Gaza’s population does not have access to adequate drinking water. “The crisis was not only predictable,” the experts said; “It was predicted.”
UN officials also noted that “people are getting far less water than they need”, leading to the spread of waterborne diseases amid rising temperatures and deteriorating sanitation conditions.
The collapse is a result of Israel’s widespread destruction of water infrastructure as well as Israeli restrictions on entry of equipment needed for fuel shortages and maintenance.
The Palestinian Water Authority has confirmed that the attacks have “destroyed water infrastructure in the Gaza Strip”, including “about 65 percent of water wells” in some areas, causing a severe decline in the territory’s ability to produce and distribute water.
As a result of the war, per capita water availability has declined by 97 percent, while total available water in Gaza is now estimated to be only 10 to 20 percent of pre-war levels.
According to a report by the Palestinian Water Authority, this supply is unstable and dependent on fuel availability, as Gaza relies mainly on groundwater sources.
systematic problem
At the same time, human rights organizations have warned that the crisis is no longer simply a by-product of war, but has taken on a systemic character.
According to Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, “the lack of clean drinking water has become a question of life or death” for citizens.
UN experts have also argued in a letter in july 2025 What is happening goes beyond a traditional humanitarian crisis and falls under the use of essential resources as a tool of pressure.
Experts said the issue was not limited to the destruction of infrastructure, but also included cutting off supplies, restricting fuel entry needed to operate water facilities, and hindering repair and maintenance efforts.
“The Israeli blockade and destruction of civilian infrastructure has left most of Gaza’s two million residents displaced and without even the minimum required amount of drinking water,” the experts said.
This recurring pattern, combining direct targeting with continued sanctions, has led to a deliberate reduction in the amount of water available to the population.
UN experts warned that “using thirst as a weapon” has become a reality in Gaza, stressing that “cuts to water and food are a silent but deadly bomb”.
Mobility is reflected in daily life, where people are forced to travel long distances to access limited water sources, wait for hours in queues and sometimes risk their lives in unsafe areas.
Due to frequent supply disruptions and instability, access to water is no longer guaranteed, turning it from a basic service into a tool of control over civilian life.
