Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip – Andaleeb al-Zaq is grateful for the sea and its salty breeze.
“It’s such a welcome change of scenery from the chaos and filth of the school we were staying at,” the 48-year-old said. “The kids treat it like we’re on a school trip. »
For Andaleeb, however, the “journey” is about survival.
His family, consisting of 16 members in total, was displaced from their home in the Shujaiya neighborhood, east of Gaza City, shortly after Israel began bombing the Gaza Strip on October 7.
They headed south to the central governorate of Deir al-Balah and visited the Alif elementary school for boys, run by the United Nations refugee agency.
“All the classrooms were already full with other families, about 80 people per class, so we set up a tent on the school grounds,” Andaleeb explained. “There are 8,000 people who have found refuge there.”
The school is close to the Mediterranean Sea and, due to the complete lack of clean running water, it has become common for some families and their children to go there to swim, bathe and wash their clothes.
Israel imposed a total siege on the Gaza Strip more than a month ago, after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks on Israeli towns and army outposts killed at least 1,400 Israelis. Some aid has been allowed to enter the enclave via the Rafah crossing with Egypt in recent days, but Israel continues to bar the entry of fuel. Gaza’s only desalination plant is out of service due to lack of fuel.
The coastal strip, which has already been under blockade for 17 years by Egypt and Israel, has been transformed into a scene of appalling destruction. More than 10,300 Palestinians were killed, the majority of them women and children. Basic infrastructure has also been targeted. At least 58 percent of all residential units in the strip were damaged, or 212,000 homes. Without fuel or electricity, hospitals run on solar generators.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) recorded that between October 21 and November 1, only 26 trucks carrying vital water and sanitation supplies entered the Gaza Strip, noting that this figure is far from being sufficient to meet the essential needs of the population. the survival of a population of 2.3 million inhabitants.
“We have no water, no sanitation, no sewage system,” said Imm Mahmoud, who lives in the same school. “With this lack of basic hygiene, neither adults nor children feel comfortable. »
The 52-year-old mother has been displaced for a month and says she has no choice but to wash her family’s clothes in the sea.
But she knows that even sea water is polluted.
“Children suffer from diarrhea, coughs and colds because of pollution and swimming in the sea,” she said. “But what do you expect from them? They must find a way to release their energy. Being locked in a school can lead to a lot of screaming and fighting with their families.
“Environmental and health crisis”
Even before the current war, inadequate sanitation infrastructure and electricity shortages meant that untreated sewage was dumped into the sea – between 100 and 108 million liters – and was responsible for more than a quarter of illnesses. It is the main cause of child morbidity in the Gaza Strip.
According to the Norwegian Refugee Council, the complete closure of sewage treatment plants in October resulted in the daily discharge of more than 130,000 cubic meters of untreated sewage into the Mediterranean Sea, posing a serious danger to the ‘environment.
The three main water lines in the Gaza Strip are all controlled by Israel. Since October 8, the pipeline connecting Israel to northern Gaza has remained closed. In the south, Israel restored water supplies to Khan Younis on October 15, but cut it off two weeks later.
And in the central area of the Gaza Strip, Israeli authorities confirmed plans to restore water supplies on October 29, but residents say this has not happened and that water reaching taps is either very chlorinated or salty.
Khalil al-Degran, a doctor and emergency supervisor at al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, said there was “an environmental disaster and a massive health crisis” caused by the increase in the population in the center of the Gaza Strip due to the displacement of families. who attend UNRWA schools.
“On average, 70 people stay in a classroom in unsanitary conditions,” he said. “As a result, many diseases and infections are circulating, such as lung infections and stomach flus, due to overpopulation. The lack of electricity and drinking water has only exacerbated this situation.
“Due to the lack of clean running water, some displaced people resorted to the sea as a place to wash their clothes or bathe, risking their lives under Israeli bombardment,” he said.
On Sunday, an Israeli air raid targeted a group of children who were on the beach west of Deir Al-Balah.
“Three of them were killed and seven were injured as a result of the Israeli airstrike,” al-Degran said.
“This aggression must stop immediately and the border crossings must be opened,” he added. “We have no medical equipment to treat the sick, let alone those injured by Israeli attacks. »
Smelly and dirty conditions
The displaced families said they would continue to bathe in the sea, saying they had no other choice.
“The schools are disgusting and there is no running water,” said Nasser Zayed, 60.
“I go down to the sea to bathe every other day, otherwise I would be like an eternal student, spending all my time within the confines of a classroom,” he added.
“The school toilets smell bad,” said 17-year-old Rima Zaqqout. “The school in general smells horrible because there are piles of garbage everywhere. »
Rima’s family was displaced three times after their home in northern Gaza was destroyed. They stayed with an aunt, then with their uncle, but both houses were also damaged by Israeli bombing.
Despite the dangers, the sea is a respite for Rima and her siblings, who go to the sea every day at midday.
“We take shampoo with us to wash the children,” she said. “Sometimes we swim too. We are living in extremely difficult times.