In Gaza, we see death in all aspects of life. Death has become an inseparable companion, persisting in the streets, the sky and even in our houses. It is no longer a shock – it is a dark daily reality to which we were forced to adapt.
There are many ways to die in Gaza, although you don’t have the luxury to choose.
You can be killed in a bombardment or be struck by the ball of a sniper while you are trying to collect food to avoid hunger, or famine itself can claim your life. The Ministry of Health says that 116 people died because of malnutrition, including many babies and children.
In Gaza, the simplest and most fundamental necessity can also be fatal. Water is one of them. Each aspect can be dangerous: provide it, seek, drink, swim.
Since the beginning of the genocide, the Israeli army has tirelessly targeted the water infrastructure of Gaza. More than 85% of Gaza water and sanitation structures are ineffective – including pipelines, wells and treatment facilities.
Israel has blocked the entry of water -related materials into the band, which makes repairs difficult. He also targeted the Water Utility Authority warehouse, destroying equipment and spare parts.
Worse, workers trying to make repairs or exploiting water infrastructure have been directly targeted and killed. Working in the water sector has now become deadly work.
More recently, on July 21, the Israeli occupation forces attacked a desalination plant in the Remal district of Gaza City, killing five people on the site. It was one of the few water stations that operated in the city.
The destruction of the water infrastructure in Gaza has forced us to go out daily in search of water. There are war entrepreneurs who charge exorbitant amounts for the delivery of water to houses; The vast majority of people cannot afford such services.
Palestinians are therefore forced to walk on long distances and wait in long queues, plastic jugs by hand, to get a daily ration of water.
The wait under the hot sun is not only exhausting, but it can also become fatal.
On July 13, 11 Palestinians – including seven children – were killed and dozens of others injured when an Israeli missile struck civilians when they were queuing to obtain water from the water trucks in the Nuseirat refugee camp, not far from my house.
Sometimes water trucks are not available, so people are forced to drink water unfit for human consumption of local wells. It is contaminated with bacteria, chemicals and other contaminants and can trigger flambés of water -borne diseases.
I felt myself a victim myself. Months ago, after drinking in a local well, I contracted hepatitis A. My skin and the whites of my eyes turned a haunting shade of yellow. Waves of nausea left me unable to eat, and a persistent fever made each breath difficult. But the worst was the burning pain of my abdomen – constant and twisted pain as if my bowels were exercised by invisible hands. For weeks, I was bed in bed, my weak body, my mind consumed by fear.
A visit to a clinic brought me no relief – just a prescription for an pain relievers and a “salamtek” (is recovered). I had to fight the infection by myself.
I survived, but others are not so lucky. Hepatitis, like other infectious diseases of water origin, has fun with Gaza, kills.
In the middle of the unbearable summer heat, one might think that at least sea water could bring to the Palestinians a certain relief, but it is also fatal.
In recent weeks, the Israeli army has declared that the entire Gaza coast of a prohibited area, effectively prohibiting Palestinians from swimming, fishing or even approaching water. Anyone who approaches the sea is shot.
Even before the ban, the Israeli army attacked the Palestinians who would try to enter the sea to fish and mitigate their families’ hunger. In December 2024, some 200 fishermen had been killed, according to the UN; Many others have died since then.
Although we are prohibited from the only place that brought us relief from heat, a few kilometers to the north, the Israelis freely benefit from the same Mediterranean waves, turn and swimming in peace. They also like long showers and the privilege of running water. They use the luxurious 247 liters (65 gallons) per day per person.
According to the World Health Organization, a person needs 100 liters (26 gallons) of water per day to cover their basic needs. The inhabitants of Gaza now obtain between two and nine liters (0.5 to 2.3 gallons) per day.
The water struggle is only one of the many Palestinian battles in Gaza fight daily. There is no food to feed their hungry family, no electricity with electricity fans and no medicines to treat the diseases that afflict us. Each aspect of life here is an endurance test. There is, literally, nothing to relieve the weight of these brutal circumstances – no relief, no respite, not even the smallest comfort.
I still cannot understand how, in the 21st century, a world of more than 7 billion people, where world leaders speak of prosperity, dignity and rule of law, we are always deprived of the most fundamental human necessities.
In December 2024, Human Rights Watch openly declared that the Palestinians in Gaza were subject to a “genocide”, and he based this conclusion on the creation of “the water deprivation of Israel as a deliberate act”. He stressed that “thousands of Palestinians in Gaza died due to malnutrition, dehydration and disease in August 2024”.
It’s been a year since. Innumerable people have died due to the armament of water by Israel – figures that are not included in the number of official deaths because the health authorities simply do not have the capacity to follow them.
The truth is in the open air. He is broadcast on international media. It is visible on social networks. And yet, the world remains inactive, refusing to act and stop Israel.
In this world, I mean: your silence echoes stronger than the bombs that fall to us every day. You must act now, or go into history with your complicity in the massacre and famine of the Palestinian people.
The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Tel Aviv Tribune.