Palestinians in Gaza face a worsening water crisis, with most households unable to secure the UN‑recommended minimum of six liters per person per day for drinking and cooking.
Worse still, only three percent of Gaza's primary water source, the coastal aquifer, is fit for human consumption.
Next to his tent in a displacement camp west of Gaza City, Mohammad Zayed draws water from a well he dug by hand.
After months of struggling to secure a dependable water supply, the displaced Palestinian decided to take matters into his own hands, creating a source of water for his family amid increasingly difficult conditions.
Armed with little more than basic tools and determination, Mohammad succeeded in reaching groundwater beside his tent.
Today, the well provides water for his family's daily needs and supports a small vegetable garden he planted nearby, helping supplement food for his children.
"We were suffering from a severe water shortage, so I went back to the methods our ancestors used 100 years ago. I dug a four-meter-deep well near the seashore, and thankfully we found usable water for our daily needs," said Zayed.
Across Gaza, access to water is becoming increasingly difficult. According to the UN-led Global WASH Cluster, large parts of the territory's water infrastructure have been damaged by the war, leaving an estimated 80 percent of the population reliant on trucked water for their daily needs.
During water distributions, dozens of Palestinians queue each day to fill whatever containers they can find. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) says access to safe water remains a daily challenge for 1.1 million children in Gaza, as the territory's water systems continue to come under severe strain.
"These water containers aren't suitable for use by either adults or children, but we can't afford replacements. Many children become sick because water is stored in dirty containers that aren't safe for drinking," said Ibtisam al-Danas, a displaced Palestinian.
According to UNICEF, most families across Gaza face chronic water insecurity, with many struggling to access even the minimum quantities required for drinking, cooking, and other essential daily needs.
"We also suffer from the quality of water. Most of the water that we provide to people is saline and not suitable for drinking. Now we are in summer and people need more water. The water sources are now about 30 percent of the needed quantities of water before October 2023," said Yahya al-Sarraj, mayor of Gaza City.
For the hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians living in tent camps, securing water remains one of the most pressing challenges of daily life. With deliveries often irregular and insufficient, many families spend much of their day searching for clean water, turning a necessity into a constant struggle for survival.
Displaced families in Gaza face worsening water crisis
