In the Gaza Strip, access to the most basic daily services has become an elusive dream. Since the start of Israel’s genocide in October 2023, Gaza’s infrastructure has continued to collapse almost completely, leaving the population in direct confrontation with hunger, poverty, disease, and the constant fear of death. Schools, hospitals, and emergency centers have been reduced to rubble or rendered virtually unusable, and electricity, water, and sewage networks are either shut down or severely limited, making daily life a daily struggle for survival.
Gaza’s deteriorating situation and crumbling infrastructure
Hospitals, which are the last line of defense for the sick and wounded, suffer from acute shortages of medicines and medical supplies, and power cuts disrupt ventilators and vital emergency equipment. Mothers of sick children wander between medical centers, searching for a bed, medicine, or simply clean water, while their children remain vulnerable to preventable diseases. However, the occupation and ongoing bombardment make everything nearly impossible.
Water and sanitation networks, which have been severely damaged, increase the risk of disease outbreaks, including cholera and intestinal infections, while millions of residents are forced to rely on contaminated water to meet their daily needs. Limited electricity makes it difficult to operate pumps, and even obtaining water for drinking or cooking has become a daily challenge.
Destroyed neighborhoods and temporary camps housing displaced people offer only temporary shelter from the bombing, while lacking any health or educational facilities. Children and adults live in crowded tents, exposed to extreme cold or heat, while schools that could provide a safe haven have become targets for destruction or storage for displaced persons.
The blockade Israel has imposed since March on the sector’s crossings has made the situation even more tragic. Humanitarian aid shipments, which are already too few, are stolen or looted, adding to the suffering of the population and leaving them deprived of food, water, and medicine, amid growing epidemics and malnutrition that threaten the lives of thousands of children, pregnant women, and the sick.
Worsening
With each passing day, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsens, as the lives of the population are fraught with death, hunger, poverty, and disease, while infrastructure remains destroyed, basic services are absent, and society is unable to resist these harsh conditions. Gaza today is not just a besieged territory, but an area of constant pain and deprivation, where survival has become the most brutal battle.
Featured image via the Canary
