“We, the Palestinian people, suffer greatly in obtaining water as it is not available in sufficient quantities, and this exhausts us a lot,” said Ali al-Zaini, a displaced 70-year-old man. “Despite my old age, I am forced to come to this place to get water at 4 am, having to wait until 7:30 am until my turn arrives.”
The limited quantities of water that Gaza’s people manage to fetch barely meet their needs.
The Gaza Strip has been experiencing a severe water crisis due to Israel’s relentless bombardments, destroying around 700 water wells that 90 percent of the population depended on, according to Palestinian officials.
Authorities in Gaza have previously stated that 80 percent of water networks have been destroyed as a result of Israeli bulldozing and bombardment operations.
Mohammed Abd Rabbo, another displaced person, has a similar bitter story and said that he sometimes goes home empty-handed.
“We wake up at 4 am and wait until 8 or 9 to be able to get water, which may not be available daily,” he said, adding that fetching water remains their primary concern.
“We also have to wait to get salty water for washing, and that takes between three to four hours,” Rabbo said. “From noon to afternoon, we queue to get salty water, and from afternoon until sunset, we queue to get drinking water.”
The United Nations estimates that the average Gazan is living on only 3 liters of water per day - well below the UN emergency standard of 15 liters.
Abdullah al-Shaqra, also a displaced person, lamented that the stations to obtain water are very crowded.
“Sometimes we cannot fill our gallons with water, and we always return home very tired,” he stressed.
Over the past ten months, the Israeli military has targeted civilian infrastructure and densely-populated areas that are filled with displaced Palestinians.
At least 39,790 people have been killed and 91,702 wounded in Israeli military attacks on Gaza since October 7, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
“My message to the world is to stop the water and return our lives in Gaza to normal as they were before the war,” Shaqra pleaded.
