Israeli Siege in Northern Gaza, Water Crisis Leads to Humanitarian Disaster, Children's Lives at Risk

Israeli Siege in Northern Gaza, Water Crisis Leads to Humanitarian Disaster, Children's Lives at Risk

Israeli forces have extensively attacked and destroyed Gaza's water infrastructure, while severely restricting the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza, including the fuel needed to operate well pumps.

As a result, residents of Gaza have been going days without access to clean water, especially in Gaza City, where the Israeli siege of northern Gaza has entered its 100th day.

Ibtihal Hamada, a resident of Gaza, told Al Jazeera, “The water truck hasn’t entered this area for the past five days. If any water comes, it will be a miracle from God.” She added, “Previously, they used to bring us water from the wells, but now there isn’t any fuel to operate the wells.”

Another resident, Khloud Abu Al Khier, said, “We used to risk our lives walking long distances to get water. I lost my two children while we were carrying water bottles because Israeli forces targeted the water truck. It’s really hard for me to carry the water to the third floor and I have no help because my husband was martyred in Rafah.”

Even children are not spared from this situation.

Gaza's child, Zaja Abu Al Khier, said, “We haven’t had water since the day before yesterday. We have to use barrels to collect enough water for the coming days.” He added, “Literally, we haven’t had a single drop of water for days, and we are very grateful because today we have water. My hands and arms hurt because of carrying the heavy water.”