Gaza: How water has become another weapon of war
In Gaza, in the midst of a shattered ceasefire and more deaths, another tactic of war is playing out as Israeli authorities essentially block access to water by cutting electricity and fuel from entering Gaza, warns Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF).
As Israeli forces continue to rain down bombs on the Strip, MSF calls for the ceasefire to be immediately restored. Israeli authorities must allow electricity to flow, along with the entry of aid, including fuel, and water and sanitation supplies, to avoid further suffering and death.
“With a new onslaught of bombings that have killed hundreds of people in just a few short days, Israeli forces continue to deprive people in Gaza of water by shutting off electricity and blocking fuel from entering,” says Paula Navarro, MSF water and sanitation coordinator in Gaza.
“These resources that are necessary for water infrastructure including the running of water pumps. For those who have endured relentless bombings, the suffering is made worse by a water crisis—many are forced to drink unsafe water, while others don't have enough.”
Inhumane consequences
Amidst the violence, if fuel runs out, the remaining water system will completely collapse, and all but cut off people’s access to water, leading to inhumane consequences for the millions of people who remain inside Gaza.
Along with injuries and deaths from the fighting and bombing, access to safe water is having consequences on people’s living conditions and their health.
In Al Mawasi and Khan Younis primary healthcare centres the three most common conditions treated by MSF - jaundice, diarrhoea and scabies - are directly caused by inadequate provision of safe water.
“The sheer number of children with skin conditions is a direct result of Gaza’s destruction and blockade,” says Chiara Lodi, MSF medical team coordinator in Gaza.
“In addition to treating adults and children who have severe war injuries, our staff are treating an increasing number of children with entirely preventable skin diseases like scabies, which is not only uncomfortable, but in severe cases, sees them scratch their skin until it bleeds which can lead to infection.
“This is a result of children being unable to bathe, spreading scabies and other infections, leaving lasting scars.”
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Blocked aid
Even prior to missile strikes from Israeli forces earlier in the week that shattered the two month long ceasefire, Israel blocked all entry of aid into Gaza. As a result, humanitarian efforts to restore Gaza’s water system remain severely obstructed and delayed by Israel authorities’ “dual-use” pre-clearance system.
Most water and sanitation supplies require pre-approval, including chlorine, essential spare parts for water desalination units, generators, borehole pumps, and water tanks.
“Restrictions by Israeli authorities have made it near impossible to restore a functioning water system,” says Navarro.
“Water production relies on energy, yet new generators over 30 kilowatts are not permitted to enter. We’re forced to ‘Frankenstein’ generators—salvaging parts from one to fix another.”
MSF continues to call on Israeli authorities to lift its inhumane siege on Gaza, uphold international humanitarian law and its responsibilities as an occupying power, and to ensure an immediate and unhindered access of aid into the Strip.
At a glance: Gaza's water crisis
• On 2 March Gaza's water crisis worsened after Israel’s authorities’ cut aid from entering Gaza, and on 9 March they cut electricity. The main desalination plant in Khan Younis reduced output from 17 million to 2.5 million litres per day
• January - February 2025, MSF teams conducted over 82,000 primary health care consultations, almost a fifth of those related to conditions linked to lack of water and hygiene, including scalp infections and skin conditions such as scabies
• January - mid March 2025, MSF produced over two million litres of clean water and distributed over 36 million litres. Since the ceasefire, MSF started distribution in northern Gaza, including Jabalia camp, where aid was blocked for months
• January 2024 - early March 2025, of the 1,700 water and sanitation items requested by MSF under the dual-use system, only 28 percent were approved by Israeli authorities. Many items are in bureaucratic limbo, with responses from authorities averaging up to 60 days—some exceeding 200. Even approved supplies can still be turned away at border crossings
• In November 2024, Israeli authorities approved an MSF desalination unit after an 85-day wait. However, despite weekly attempts since 5 February, the unit still hasn’t entered Gaza, as the trucks carrying it continue to be turned away at the border
MSF and the Israel-Gaza war
An unprecedented humanitarian crisis is unfolding in Gaza. MSF teams have worked to treat the wounded and supply overwhelmed hospitals as indiscriminate airstrikes and a state of siege threaten millions of men, women and children.