Doctors report rising kidney infections from salty or contaminated water…“noticeably higher among children.”
Severe water shortages in Gaza are worsening as Israel’s military offensive expands, causing mass displacement and threatening a total shutdown of water systems.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), desalination and sanitation plants are days away from collapse due to lack of fuel.
Israel had blocked fuel deliveries since 2 March, aiming to pressure Hamas, though it recently agreed to allow basic supplies. Fuel, however, remains restricted.
“We know it is undrinkable water, and we still drink it,” said Raed al-Zaharneh, a father-of-four in Khan Younis. “We’ve had stomach pain and diarrhoea, but we put up with it.”
Doctors report rising kidney infections from salty or contaminated water. “The cases are noticeably higher among children,” said Dr Ghazi al-Yazji of al-Shifa Hospital.
UNICEF says water production is down 80% at key sites. Without urgent fuel deliveries, over 140,000 newly displaced civilians face an escalating humanitarian crisis.