UNICEF warns Gaza water system collapsing, says ‘children will soon die of thirst’

Gaza’s drinking-water network is down to 40 percent capacity and “a man-made drought” threatens children with death from thirst, the UN children’s agency said on Friday.

Displaced Palestinians walk along Rashid Street in western Jabalia, 17 June, 2025, after humanitarian aid trucks entered the northern Gaza Strip through the Israeli-controlled Zikim crossing, northwest of Gaza City.

Photo: EPA/HAITHAM IMAD

UNICEF spokesman James Elder told reporters that only two in five potable-water plants remain working after months of war and blockade.

“Children will begin to die of thirst,” he said.

The warning follows UNICEF data showing more than 5,000 Gazan children were treated for malnutrition in May, up 50 percent from April and 150 percent since February, when a brief ceasefire allowed greater aid deliveries.

Aid groups say fuel shortages, damaged pumps and restrictions on relief convoys have crippled desalination and distribution systems in the enclave of 2.3 million people.

Israel says it lets sufficient supplies enter but must prevent aid from reaching Hamas.

UN agencies have repeatedly cautioned that famine is looming unless water, food and medical shipments rise sharply and distribution becomes safer.

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Source: The Guardian, UNICEF