Gaza Faces Humanitarian Catastrophe: Children Risk Dying of Thirst
Gaza is grappling with a devastating humanitarian crisis, where the collapse of essential water systems threatens the population with severe drought on top of acute hunger. Unicef has issued a stark warning that children in the territory could soon begin dying from thirst as access to safe drinking water plummets to dangerously low levels.
According to Unicef, conditions for drinking water across Gaza are “way below emergency standards.” Only approximately 40% of drinking water production facilities remain functional – that’s just 87 out of 217 plants. The agency emphasizes that even these remaining facilities operate on rapidly depleting reserves and face complete shutdown within weeks without essential supplies, particularly fuel.
The “Man-Made Drought”: Fuel Blockade and Infrastructure Destruction
The critical water shortage is described by Unicef as a “man-made drought,” directly linked to the prolonged blockade of fuel entering Gaza. This blockade, reportedly in place for over 100 days since March, is crippling the territory’s ability to power essential services. Fuel is desperately needed to operate borehole pumps and the sole remaining desalination plant, vital sources of potable water.
Compounding the crisis, much of Gaza’s crucial water infrastructure, including wastewater treatment plants, sewage systems, reservoirs, and pipes, has been destroyed. Further exacerbating the situation, power supplies to the main desalination plants were cut in March, removing another vital water source.
Unicef argues that the crisis is not logistical or technical but political, asserting that its “man-made” nature means it “can be stopped” if the necessary political will exists.
Seeking Aid Becomes Perilous: Killings and Injuries at Distribution Points
The humanitarian situation is further exacerbated by the extreme danger faced by Palestinians attempting to access desperately needed aid, including food and water. Reports indicate a disturbing frequency of killings and injuries occurring near aid distribution sites.
Local health authorities reported at least 24 to 35 people were killed by Israeli fire while waiting for aid in central Gaza on a recent Friday alone, with others injured. Hospital staff in Nuseirat recounted treating numerous severely injured individuals, including women, children, and young people, noting injuries often concentrated in the chest and head.
Witnesses describe terrifying scenes. One man from Jabaliya refugee camp recounted being hit by explosions while waiting for supplies, despite trying to keep a safe distance. The civil defence agency reported a total of 43 fatalities from Israeli bombardment on that same Friday, with 26 of those deaths occurring among people waiting for humanitarian aid. Hundreds of Palestinians have reportedly been killed in recent weeks while attempting to reach aid distribution points managed by various organizations, including the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), or while trying to offload aid trucks.
Unicef officials have shared harrowing testimonies of women and children injured while seeking food, including a young boy wounded by a tank shell who later died. Communication about aid distribution sites is also difficult, with information often shared online but inaccessible to many when internet service is down.
Aid Delivery Challenges and Controversies
Beyond the immediate danger, aid delivery faces numerous obstacles. Roads choked with rubble, ongoing airstrikes, restrictions imposed by the Israeli military, and growing disorder that sometimes leads to aid shipments being stopped and offloaded by desperate civilians all impede the flow of aid.
A controversial new dynamic in aid distribution has also emerged with the GHF. Israel reportedly hopes the GHF will replace the previous comprehensive UN aid system, which Israeli officials claimed allowed Hamas to divert aid. However, UN agencies and major aid groups operating in Gaza since the conflict began reject the GHF system, deeming it impractical, inadequate, and unethical. They deny widespread theft of aid by Hamas.
Critics describe the GHF system as “private and militarised,” relying on limited distribution sites in the south guarded by private contractors and Israeli soldiers. This approach is argued to be fundamentally flawed and dangerous, forcing desperate civilians to undertake perilous journeys for insufficient supplies. Eyewitness accounts highlight mass casualty events near GHF sites, resulting in deaths and injuries from gunfire and tank fire, including among children. UN aid officials have called the GHF sites a “fig leaf for further violence,” suggesting the system makes “starvation a bargaining chip.”
Despite these criticisms, the GHF stated it had provided over 30 million meals “safely and without incident” since beginning operations last month. However, aid agencies point out that this is a fraction of what is needed and stands in stark contrast to the previous UN system which operated over 400 distribution points during a ceasefire period, significantly increasing access.
Broader Humanitarian Catastrophe
The collapse of water systems and the dangers surrounding aid distribution are part of a larger humanitarian catastrophe engulfing Gaza. The territory’s entire population of over 2 million people is at critical risk of famine, particularly after a tight blockade on supplies earlier this year.
Acute malnutrition among young children is surging, with reports indicating a 50% rise in cases between April and May among children aged six months to five years. Over 5,000 children were diagnosed with acute malnutrition in May alone, with an average of 112 children admitted for treatment daily since the start of 2025. Aid agencies stress these cases are preventable if necessary food, water, and nutrition treatments are allowed unimpeded access.
The lack of fuel also has devastating consequences for healthcare. Only a fraction of health facilities remain functional, many only partially. Hospitals face generators stopping, oxygen production ceasing, life-support machines failing, and ambulances being unable to move. Denying fuel, aid workers state, is not just cutting off supply, but “cuts off survival.”
The conflict, triggered by the 7 October 2023 attack, has resulted in a catastrophic death toll in Gaza, reaching over 55,600 people, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry. Aid agencies continue to call for a ceasefire, protection of civilians, release of hostages, and full, unimpeded humanitarian access to avert further preventable deaths, including children dying of thirst.
