Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Breaking News

Gaza Residents Suffering From Severe Water Shortage Due to Conflict

Gaza residents are suffering from a severe water shortage as a result of the ongoing conflict there.

Damage to wells and Gaza’s energy infrastructure has disrupted the pumping and distribution of water, cutting the coastal strip’s water supply by half, according to Haaretz.

In addition, hundreds of thousands of displaced Gazans have been unable to bathe regularly. Haaretz reported that the water shortage could lead to the spread of infections and skin diseases.

The Palestinian Water Authority told Haaretz that bombing destroyed 11 wells and two purification plants while damaging an additional 15 wells and four purification plants.

Workers began repairs on the infrastructure during the cease-fires of recent weeks, but the repairs are expected to stop now that fighting has resumed. Ninety percent of the water in Gaza is not potable, making the purification plants crucial to the area’s drinking supply.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.