The Palestinian Water Crisis Is Everybody's Problem – Including Israel

The Palestinian Water Crisis Is Everybody's Problem – Including Israel

While all eyes in Israel are on a potential new regional war, there's another crisis going on – a pan-Palestinian water and sewage situation with dire health, social and political consequences. Israel, the main instigator of the crisis, seems to believe it won't be affected

Dahlia Scheindlin Aug 10, 2024 9:47 pm IDT

Gaza's water situation is disastrous.

In a poll from late May, the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey research found that only 36 percent of Gazans said water was available where they are staying.

An Oxfam report from July found that from November through May, Gazans had an average of 4.74 liters of water per capita per day. That's less than one-third of the minimum amount needed for survival in emergencies: 15 liters of water per day, including drinking water and hygiene needs.

At the start of the war, the Israeli government shut down the three pipelines for the water that Israel sells to Gaza, making up about 12 percent of Gaza's water supply (according to a recent report on water from Oxfam, an international NGO). Two have been reopened, but the damage means just a fraction of the original capacity goes through.

This may not be purposeful, as Israel has been accused of in international courts. But after the Israel Defense Forces blew up a water reservoir in late July, and following years of discriminatory water policies against Palestinians, the accusation carries a context.

A slight improvement came last week when the Palestinian Water Authority announced it had secured the transfer of 50,000 liters of fuel into northern Gaza – the largest amount since the war began, and a critical resource for powering water infrastructure, as well as sewage pumps.

But there's no comfort in crumbs, or drops. The minimum amount of fuel needed to power Gaza's "WASH" facilities – water supply, sanitation and health – is 70,000 liters per day, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Out of service

Bushra Khalidi, Oxfam policy lead for the occupied territories and co-author of the NGO's recent report, says the average amount of water available to a Gazan each day is less than what others would use in a single toilet flush. During a water cutout one day in Ramallah, Khalidi recalls, she took a shower using four one-liter bottles, noticing that this was all Gazans had on average for a whole day.

Humanitarian Situation Update #202 | Gaza Strip

Key Highlights

  • Thousands of Palestinians have moved towards western Khan Younis and western Deir al Balah in the past 72 hours, the UN and aid partners report.  

  • At least 287 aid workers, including 205 UNRWA staff, have been killed since October 2023, according to data received by the UN and its partners. 

  • Water and sanitation partners are warning of flood risks, including in Al Mawasi, as they ramp up preparedness efforts ahead of the winter season; key supplies need to enter Gaza to ensure there is sufficient flood prevention and response capacity. 

  • Volume of aid entering Gaza has more than halved since early May, from a daily average of 169 trucks in April to less than 80 trucks in June and July.

Read the full report.

Palestinians fleeing from from Al Qarara and Wadi Al Salqa areas in Khan Younis following an Israeli evacuation order on 8 August. Photo: Themba Linden/OCHA

Humanitarian Situation Update West Bank. Aug 7

Key Highlights

  • Sixteen Palestinians, including two children, were killed by Israeli forces during the reporting period. Nine of these were from airstrikes.

  • The number of Palestinians displaced in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, by demolitions and confiscations has more than doubled since 7 October compared with the preceding 10 months (3,070 compared to 1,252).

  • Since 7 October, about 181,000 people have been impacted at least once by 25 incidents involving demolitions and destruction of roads, water and sanitation facilities, and other public infrastructure, mainly during Israeli forces’ operations in Tulkarm and Jenin.

  • More than 1,500 Palestinians are at risk of imminent displacement in the Al Bustan area of Silwan, in East Jerusalem, the Norwegian Refugee Council warns.

Read the report here.

Israeli settlers torched residential tents in Al Mughayyir village in Ramallah governorate, displacing two Palestinian families. Photo: OCHA