Displaced Palestinians in Rafah struggle with water shortage as it reaches life-threatening proportions

By Mustafa Haboush

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) — Displaced Palestinians in a refugee camp in Gaza's southern city of Rafah are facing a severe water shortage, adding to their hardships amid the ongoing Israeli offensive since Oct. 7.

Saad Al-Tarabeen, 45, waits patiently in a long line with hundreds of other displaced people, holding empty containers in his hand to fill them up.

He and his nine of his family members have been unable to get the water they urgently need for the past two days.

Water has been scarce in Gaza as the enclave has lacked the electricity and fuel needed to keep its water pumps in operation since the Israel onslaught began more than five months ago.

Al-Tarabeen's is just one of hundreds of displaced families in Rafah living in severe conditions due to the lack of water.

Displaced Palestinians have set up temporary camps in Rafah city, which houses more than 1.3 million people, as Israeli army continues its onslaught on the Gaza Strip.

"From yesterday until this moment, I have yet to receive any water, and with summer looming closer, our demand for water only intensifies," Al-Tarabeen told Anadolu.

"The smallest camp in Rafah accommodates 80-90 families, and the water supply lasts a mere two hours and not on a daily basis. A woefully inadequate provision for these families," he added.

He explained that while the average person needs 40 to 50 liters of water per day, many are unable to get even two liters (about 0.5 gallons) of water on a daily basis.

Meanwhile, Um Suhaib Yassin, 40, waits eagerly for her children who went to fetch water to prepare iftar, the evening fast-breaking meal that Muslims eat during the holy month of Ramadan.

As her children return with their bottles , she greets them with a warm smile, relieved that they were able to secure the precious liquid.

"We face many crucial challenges in the camps, with the most important issue being the scarcity of water," she told Anadolu.

"Its sporadic availability, lasting only two to three hours every other day, makes it immensely difficult to meet our needs, especially considering the significant number of displaced persons," she added.

"We spend our whole day searching for water, especially during Ramadan."

Yassin yearns for an end to the ongoing war, praying that water begins to once again flow in ample amounts to Gaza. She hopes Rafah city will be spared from any further military operations.

Despite the global outcry over the catastrophic situation in the Palestinian enclave, the Israeli premier has long expressed his intention to attack Rafah, the southernmost town in Gaza and one of the last significant communities spared from a ground invasion in the enclave.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Palestinian territory since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas in which some 1,200 Israelis were killed.

More than 32,200 Palestinians have since been killed and over 74,500 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Istanbul