The challenge they face is steep. With Gaza located next to the sea, most of the water available from wells and boreholes is brackish, a mix of salt and freshwater. That makes it undrinkable and is why desalination plants, to make water drinkable again, are vital.
But a lot of the infrastructure needed to clean, store and distribute water is either damaged or destroyed – Omar estimates more than 80 per cent – or lies in areas where it is not safe for people in Gaza to go.
And there are other hurdles. To operate wells and boreholes, desalination plants and sewage pumping stations electricity is required.
“We are living now for more than two and a half years without any electricity supply to Gaza,” Omar says. They rely on generators instead. Fuel and oil supply to run those generators, as well as many of the materials and machinery that are needed to run water storage and distribution networks – let alone repair and replace them, are scarce.
All this means that water production has dropped radically – to around 40 per cent of what it was before October 2023. Independent water production – from wells in Gaza – is less than a third of what it was.
In terms of water that can be used for drinking, cooking and hygiene, Omar says they can barely ensure six litres reaches all the people who need it across Gaza every day. That’s not just below the UN’s recommended minimum of 15 to 20 litres for each person per day. It’s below their absolute baseline required for survival, which is 7.5 litres.
With many people living in tents, which become scorching hot in summer, and with a looming sanitation crisis connected to the scarcity of water, the work of Omar and his colleagues is needed more than ever.
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