Gaza's Water Crisis: Escalating Humanitarian Emergency under Israel's Stranglehold
Gaza faces dire humanitarian crisis as Israeli airstrikes continue, leaving residents without water, food, and electricity The situation worsens each day, with no immediate relief in sight
In Gaza, a dire humanitarian situation is rapidly unfolding. Trapped residents, with limited access to food and electricity, are enduring a fourth day of Israeli airstrikes. These airstrikes are in response to a deadly attack by Hamas on Israel, resulting in the loss of 900 lives and the capture of up to 150 hostages. Nadine Abdul Latif, a 13-year-old from Gaza City's Al Rimal neighborhood, shared that her family was advised by neighbors and relatives to evacuate on Monday upon learning of Israel's intention to target the area. However, due to the absence of a secure refuge, they made the difficult decision to remain behind.
Her father Nihad has been missing since Saturday. He had been working in Israel, but after Hamas Saturday attack, the family lost touch with him.
Smoke rises following Israeli strikes on the seaport of Gaza City, in Gaza on Tuesday.
Mohammed Salem/Reuters
The Gaza Strip, under the control of Hamas, has been heavily bombarded by airstrikes following the order of Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to impose a total blockade on the region. This blockade includes cutting off the supply of electricity, food, water, and fuel to the enclave. Gallant justified the action by stating that they are fighting against barbaric forces and will respond accordingly. During the overnight attack, Israeli fighter jets targeted more than 200 locations in Gaza, resulting in a death toll of over 800 individuals according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza.
Tariq Al Hillu, a 29-year-old individual residing in Al Sudaniya, northern Gaza, recounted the sheer chaos that ensued in his neighborhood on Sunday morning following the airstrikes.
"My family members started to scream and hastily evacuate the house, scattering in various directions," he shared with CNN, emphasizing that his entire neighborhood had been completely demolished "without any prior warning."
He mentioned that his neighbors were trapped beneath the debris, their cries for assistance echoing in his ears.
On Tuesday, October 10, a funeral was held in Ashkelon, Israel, where people gathered to mourn at the grave of Eden Guez. Tragically, Eden had lost her life while attending a music festival that was targeted by terrorists from Gaza. The Nova Festival, which Israeli officials estimated had claimed the lives of at least 260 individuals, was the unfortunate setting of this horrific incident.
Smoke rises after Israeli strikes on the seaport of Gaza City on October 10.
Mohammed Salem/Reuters
Kfar Azza, a village in Israel situated near the border with Gaza, witnessed a distressful event on October 10. Israeli soldiers were witnessed carrying a body, as the Israel Defense Forces informed CNN about the occurrence of a "massacre" committed by Hamas militants during their recent attacks over the weekend.
Sergey Ponomarev/The New York Times/Redux
Stranded travelers wait to be booked on a flight at Ben Gurion International Airport outside Tel Aviv on October 10.
Tamir Kalifa/The New York Times/Redux
Palestinians walk amid the rubble following Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City on October 10.
Fatima Shbair/AP
Israelis in Ashkelon take cover in a shelter as a siren sounds a warning of incoming rockets on October 10.
Ohad Zwigenberg/AP
Fatima Shbair/AP
A Palestinian man reacts as he carries the body of his cousin who was pulled from the rubble after Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City on Monday, October 9.
Belal Khaled/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
A family takes shelter at a neighbor's house after their home was damaged in an Israeli airstrike in the Shati refugee camp in Gaza on October 9.
Samar Abu Elouf/The New York Times/Redux
Children run for cover as bombs fall near the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on October 9.
Samar Abu Elouf/The New York Times/Redux
A photo from a wedding is seen on the ground of a building in Ashkelon that was hit by rockets from Gaza on October 9.
People take shelter in Jerusalem on October 9.
Tamir Kalifa/The New York Times/Redux
The ruins of the Yassin mosque are seen in the Shati refugee camp just outside Gaza City on October 9.
Samar Abu Elouf/The New York Times/Redux
Friends and relatives of Ilai Bar Sade mourn next to his grave during his funeral at a military cemetery in Tel Aviv, Israel, on October 9.
Erik Marmor/AP
Rescued from the debris in Gaza City on October 9, Sama Alwadia, a six-month-old infant, tragically succumbed to her injuries during the course of her treatment, despite miraculously surviving the initial attack.
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Lightning strikes over Gaza City following an Israeli bombardment on October 9.
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Oren Ziv/AP
A Palestinian man mourns over the body of his nephew killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on October 9.
Mohammed Saber/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Israeli security and emergency officials respond after a rocket landed in the Israeli settlement of Beitar Ilit, in the occupied West Bank, on October 9.
Ronen Zvulun/Reuters
Palestinians inspect the damage following an Israeli airstrike on the Sousi mosque in Gaza City on October 9.
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Israeli soldiers work on a tank at the border between Israel and Gaza on October 9.
Ilia Yefimovich/dpa/picture-alliance/AP
A plume of smoke rises in the sky over Gaza City during an Israeli airstrike on October 9.
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The mother of Israeli Col. Roi Levy cries during her son's funeral at the Mount Herzl cemetery in Jerusalem on October 9.
Maya Alleruzzo/AP
Palestinians inspect damage from Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City's Shati refugee camp on October 9.
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An injured Palestinian child is pictured in the aftermath of Israeli airstrikes at al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza on October 9.
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Erik Marmor/AP
Tali Touito reacts as she describes how Hamas gunmen attacked and took over the police station on her street, in Sderot, Israel, on Sunday, October 8.
Tamir Kalifa/The New York Times/Redux
Fire and smoke rise from Gaza City following an Israeli airstrike on October 8.
Fatima Shbair/AP
A relative of an Israeli missing since the attacks is overcome by emotion during a press conference in Ramat Gan, Israel, on October 8.
Maya Alleruzzo/AP
Palestinians inspect a mosque destroyed by Israeli airstrikes in Khan Younis, Gaza, on October 8.
Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters
Israelis inspect the rubble of a building in Tel Aviv on October 8, a day after it was hit by a rocket fired from Gaza.
Oded Balilty/AP
Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets launched from Gaza on October 8.
Ronen Zvulun/Reuters
Palestinians search the rubble of a home in Khan Younis that was destroyed by Israeli airstrikes on October 8.
Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters
Palestinian citizens inspect damage to their homes caused by Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City on October 8.
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Rockets launched from Gaza are intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system on October 8.
Palestinian children look toward the sky at the sound of airstrikes at a United Nations-run school in Gaza on Saturday, October 7.
Samar Abu Elouf/The New York Times/Redux
A woman runs to her family's reinforced concrete shelter moments after rocket sirens sounded in Ashkelon on October 7.
Tamir Kalifa/The New York Times/Redux
From the window of his family's apartment, a man surveys damage from a rocket that struck a parking lot in Ashkelon on October 7.
Tamir Kalifa/The New York Times/Redux
Palestinians gather around an Israeli army vehicle that Palestinian militants drove from Israel into Gaza on October 7.
Fatima Shbair/AP
Police officers evacuate a woman and a child from a site hit by a rocket in Ashkelon on October 7.
Tsafrir Abayov/AP
Israeli police take cover in Ashkelon as sirens wail while rockets are fired from Gaza into Israel on October 7.
Ahmad Gharabli/AFP/Getty Images
Smoke rises over Gaza during Israeli airstrikes on October 7.
Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images
An Israeli woman reacts over the body of her relative who was killed in the southern Israeli city of Sderot on October 7.
Baz Ratner/AP
Children are seen in a damaged house in Gaza after Israeli airstrikes on October 7.
Vehicles in Ashkelon burn as rockets are launched from Gaza on October 7.
Ilan Rosenberg/Reuters
A man in Ashkelon runs after rockets were launched from Gaza on October 7.
Amir Cohen/Reuters
Israelis donate blood in Jerusalem on October 7.
Maya Alleruzzo/AP
Palestinians inspect a destroyed building as emergency responders try to contain fires after Israeli jets bombed Gaza on October 7.
Samar Abu Elouf/The New York Times/Redux
Outside of a hospital in Gaza, men sit next to the covered body of a Palestinian militant killed during Saturday's clashes.
Eyad Baba/AFP/Getty Images
Ali Jadallah/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
An Israeli soldier stands by the bodies of Israelis killed by Palestinian militants in Sderot on October 7.
Tsafrir Abayov/AP licensed
A woman stands in a room damaged by rockets in Ashkelon on October 7.
Amir Cohen/Reuters
A building in Tel Aviv is ablaze Saturday, October 7, following rocket attacks from Gaza.
Itai Ron/Reuters
Smoke rises as the clashes between Palestinian groups and Israeli forces continue on the streets of Beit Hanun in Gaza on October 7.
People take cover in a bomb shelter in Rishon Lezion, Israel, as rockets are launched from Gaza on October 7.
Hadas Parush/Reuters
Rockets are fired toward Israel from Gaza on October 7.
Fatima Shbair/AP
In pictures: The deadly clashes in Israel and Gaza
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UNRWA reported that 83 of its schools in Gaza have been transformed into temporary shelters, however, as of Monday, they were already filled to 90% capacity, providing refuge to over 137,000 individuals seeking protection from Israeli airstrikes. Unlike the southern cities in Israel, Gaza lacks designated bomb shelters or bunkers to safeguard its civilian population from these attacks.
Situation to deteriorate exponentially
: The Gaza Strip, measuring only 140 square miles, is one of the most densely populated regions worldwide, accommodating approximately two million individuals. According to the UNRWA, over half of its inhabitants face food insecurity and reside below the poverty threshold.Israel exercises control over Gaza's electricity, water, fuel, and a portion of its food supply. Additionally, they have implemented a rigorous blockade on Gaza, limiting land, sea, and air access. Despite this, they used to permit a certain level of trade and humanitarian aid through the crossings they oversee. The Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, addressed the alarming humanitarian conditions in Gaza, emphasizing that they were already exceedingly dire before the current hostilities and now are expected to worsen significantly.
Shakir expressed strong disapproval for Hamas' assaults on Israel, deeming them as "war crimes according to international humanitarian law" due to their deliberate focus on civilian targets, indiscriminate attacks, and abduction of innocent civilians.
Since Israeli forces pulled out from the region in 2005, the Gaza Strip has been subjected to Israeli airstrikes during several conflicts. These clashes mainly occur between Israel and Palestinian groups in Gaza, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
A potential Israeli ground invasion, if it were to happen, could significantly worsen the humanitarian situation there.
Women mourn during the funeral of Palestinians killed in overnight Israeli shelling in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday.
Said Khatib/AFP via Getty Images
Caged birds that survived overnight Israeli shelling are seen in a damaged apartment in the city center of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday.
Said Khatib/AFP via Getty Images
Israel controls the movement of residents from Gaza into Israel through two crossings, Erez and Kerem Shalom, both of which have been shut.
Goods, food, and fuel are also transported into Gaza from Egypt via the Rafah crossing. However, Eyad al-Bozom, spokesperson for the Palestinian Interior Ministry, stated on Tuesday that Rafah was targeted. During past conflicts between Hamas in Gaza and Israel, Egypt granted permission for aid to enter through the Rafah crossing and facilitated the transportation of injured individuals for medical treatment.
Nadine and her family continue to face a desperate situation. The World Food Programme cautioned that although the majority of shops in the area currently hold a "one-month supply of food," these stocks are at risk of being quickly depleted due to people panic-buying amid concerns of a prolonged conflict. The ongoing power outages further heighten the risk of food spoilage.
