Overview

• Gaza is enduring a severe summer heat wave with temperatures exceeding 40°C, heightening dehydration risks for displaced families.
• Airstrikes and power and fuel shortages have crippled desalination plants and pipelines, slashing water infrastructure capacity.
• Water deliveries are averaging less than three liters per person per day, far below the 15-liter minimum needed for basic needs.
• Residents are resorting to visibly contaminated water from trucks and polluted wells, fueling outbreaks of diarrhea and other infectious diseases.
• UNRWA has called for a ceasefire to allow unimpeded aid deliveries while Israel’s COGAT cites partial pipeline reactivations and a desalination plant reconnection that have not closed the supply gap.