Israeli Military Operations Deepen Gaza's Critical Water Crisis, Killing Essential Workers

Israeli Military Operations Deepen Gaza's Critical Water Crisis, Killing Essential Workers

A water infrastructure engineer and two humanitarian workers transporting supplies to displaced populations were killed by Israeli forces over a four-day period in mid-April, significantly worsening an already severe shortage of potable water across Gaza and accelerating the transmission of preventable diseases throughout the territory.

Israeli restrictions limiting imports of soap, detergent and other sanitation items have simultaneously driven up prices dramatically, further complicating efforts to maintain hygiene standards in densely packed shelters and tent settlements.

Escalating Attacks on Water Infrastructure Workers

The conflict, now in its third year, has systematically destroyed Gaza's civilian infrastructure, particularly water distribution networks and sewage treatment systems. Palestinian workers attempting to repair or maintain these systems have become frequent casualties of military operations.

Omar Shatat, deputy director of Gaza's coastal municipalities water utility, reported that approximately 19 water facility employees have been killed since the war began while performing maintenance and distribution duties. "Targeting has become part of the operational reality," Shatat stated.

On the Monday of the most recent incident, Israeli forces struck the al-Zein well in northern Gaza while engineering teams were conducting repairs. The operation killed one worker, wounded four others, and inflicted extensive structural damage to what authorities described as "a critical water source serving the surrounding population." An incident report indicated the damage would disrupt water supplies to thousands of residents.

Four days prior, Israeli troops shot and killed two drivers employed by UNICEF at the primary water collection facility serving northern Gaza, with two additional workers injured in the incident. UNICEF warned that the attack compromised humanitarian networks supplying clean water to hundreds of thousands of Gazans.

Severe Water Rationing Below International Standards

The United Nations recognizes clean water access as a fundamental human right, establishing standards of 50 to 100 litres daily per person under normal circumstances. Current conditions in Gaza fall drastically short of these benchmarks.

UNICEF reports that the average daily supply across Gaza is merely 7 litres of drinking water and 16 litres for domestic use per person. Many residents lack access to the minimum 6 litres daily recommended for drinking purposes alone.

Sanitation Supply Crisis Drives Up Costs

The scarcity of hygiene products has created acute pricing pressures. Over the past month alone, the cost of cleaning supplies has doubled in local markets.

Anwar al-Maghribi, a shop owner in Deir al-Balah, documented significant price increases affecting households. "A 7kg pack of laundry detergent has risen from 50 shekels to 100 shekels or more, and other cleaning products have also seen similar increases," he explained, describing the situation as a "major crisis."

Health Consequences Mounting Rapidly

Laureline Lasserre, emergency humanitarian affairs manager for Médecins Sans Frontières in Gaza, connected the water crisis directly to disease transmission. "No clean water, no soap, overcrowded living conditions; this is the root cause of a huge proportion of what we treat every day," she stated.

Palestinians face impossible daily choices between allocating limited water supplies for drinking, food preparation or personal hygiene. Women report infections resulting from inability to maintain menstrual hygiene and postpartum washing. Infants develop repeated illnesses from contaminated water used in formula preparation.

Untreated wounds become infested with parasitic larvae due to inadequate washing capabilities. MSF medical personnel have additionally documented severe psychological effects, including suicidal thoughts, stemming from extreme water deprivation.

"The Israeli authorities have destroyed water infrastructure and are blocking humanitarians from providing alternatives. They are causing the water crisis and preventing the solution," Lasserre asserted.

Displacement Communities Face Daily Water Rationing

Families in displacement camps navigate severe logistical challenges to secure basic water quantities. Omar Saada, a 38-year-old father of four in Khan Younis, reported that a single water truck serves over 50 families, providing insufficient volume for the recommended 20 litres per person.

"We wake up as early as 6am to be able to collect water from the trucks. Before, it was available from early morning until after noon, but now it is usually just for two hours," Saada explained. His family has reduced bathing frequency, resulting in skin infections among his children. The available water frequently causes gastrointestinal illness.

Nesma Rashwan, a 31-year-old mother of five living in a tent encampment at al-Qarara, receives water truck visits only once weekly. She describes the water as having an unpleasant smell and taste, yet her family has no alternatives. "For about a year now, we have not had clean drinking water that truly quenches thirst," Rashwan noted. When her son became ill, she purchased fresh water at five shekels per gallon—a cost she cannot sustain regularly. She now sends her children to bathe in seawater, supplementing with minimal amounts of stored fresh water.

Infrastructure Damage Compounds Supply Crisis

Damage to water pipes and desalination facilities has been exacerbated by Israeli restrictions on importing fuel, replacement components and equipment into Gaza.

Shatat described emergency improvisation measures: "We have been forced to improvise by recycling and assembling parts from destroyed facilities to create a single functioning unit, what I describe as 'assembling fragments'." Workers extract usable components from multiple destroyed wells to operate a single functional facility, or combine parts from several damaged pumping stations to construct one operational unit.

Early this month, shrapnel from an Israeli airstrike damaged the electrical transmission line supplying the Deir al-Balah desalination facility, which normally serves approximately 400,000 residents. The shortage of replacement parts extended repairs by one week, during which the plant operated at only 20% capacity using backup generators. Water deliveries to surrounding areas ceased entirely during this period.

Sewage Crisis Compounds Health Risks

The water shortage crisis is intensified by the collapse of sewage treatment infrastructure. Approximately 1.1 million people in displacement camps lack functional sewage networks, instead relying on absorption pits that frequently overflow, creating severe health and environmental hazards.

In school buildings converted into shelters, septic tank overflows create sewage leaks into classroom spaces that spread between rooms. Repair cement is unavailable, while the fleet of vehicles that once emptied septic tanks was largely destroyed during military operations, with no replacements permitted entry. Gaza requires 100 septic tank trucks but only 15 remain operational, severely strained by constant use.

Israeli Authorities Dispute Claims of Restrictions

Israeli officials deny imposing any restrictions on water and sanitation equipment or fuel supplies entering Gaza. A COGAT spokesperson—the Israeli governmental body overseeing Palestinian aid distribution—stated that Israel supplies clean water through three active pipeline networks and permits Egyptian water passage through a fourth channel.

"There are four active water pipes [supplying] the Gaza Strip. There are operational desalination plants and there are dozens of water wells that receive regular fuel [to power pumps]," the COGAT representative said, claiming these sources contribute an estimated 70,000 cubic metres daily, or approximately 30 litres per person.

When questioned about the shooting of humanitarian truck drivers, the Israeli Defense Forces stated troops had "perceived a threat" but declined to elaborate. Regarding the engineer killed at al-Zein well, the military declined to comment.