GAZA (Palestine Foundation Information Center) The Gaza Municipality issued an urgent warning on Sunday about a severe water crisis unfolding in the city, as rising summer temperatures increase demand among both residents and displaced families.
According to a statement shared on its official account on X, the municipality said the city is facing catastrophic conditions after the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) destroyed nearly 75% of Gaza’s water wells since the start of the genocide on October 7, 2023. The remaining wells are barely operational due to acute fuel shortages.
The municipality also cited Israel’s recurrent halt of water pumping through the national company Mekorot as a major factor driving the crisis. This disruption has left large sections of Gaza suffering from severe thirst, threatening an imminent health and environmental disaster unless international agencies intervene with urgent support.
Officials called on humanitarian organizations to provide emergency fuel supplies, help rehabilitate the damaged infrastructure, and restore a stable water supply to the population.
Currently, Gaza receives only about 35,000 cups of water per day—less than a third of the 120,000 cups distributed during similar periods before the genocide. Of this reduced amount, approximately 20,000 cups are sourced from Mekorot supplies, while 15,000 cups come from municipal wells, which operate for only a few hours a day due to the ongoing electricity and fuel crisis. A small quantity is also sourced from private wells, but access remains extremely limited.
The municipality emphasized that the current supply is drastically below the city’s basic needs, putting tens of thousands of lives at risk.
