Gaza’s humanitarian crisis continues to escalate as Israel enforces a strict blockade, cutting off fuel needed to operate desalination plants and water wells. This deliberate strategy has turned access to water into a weapon, leaving over 90% of Gaza’s population without clean drinking water and deepening an already catastrophic situation.  

Residents are forced to walk long distances in search of water, carrying empty jugs and buckets. Muhammad Shawarb, 44, returned to his destroyed home in Al-Nasr neighbourhood only to find no water supply. “I haven’t been able to wash my face for over a week,” he said. “The well I relied on has stopped because fuel is banned.”  

The central desalination plant, once producing 18,000 cubic metres of water daily, now operates at less than 3,000 cubic metres due to fuel shortages. Israeli forces have destroyed 330,000 metres of water networks and disabled 717 wells over the past 16 months, according to the Government Media Office.  

Human Rights Watch and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have condemned Israel’s “deprivation policy,” linking it to severe health crises and deaths. Gaza’s municipalities warn of total infrastructure collapse if fuel and essential supplies remain blocked.  

“We just want to live with dignity,” said Mohammed Rashid, a father of five. “We want to drink, to bathe, to live like other people.”  

As Gaza’s people endure this man-made disaster, the international community faces mounting pressure to act. Without lifting the blockade and restoring basic rights, Gaza’s population will continue to suffer, surrounded by the sea yet denied its life-sustaining resources.