RAFAH, Saturday, March 30, 2024 (WAFA) – In the displacement camps nestled within the heart of Rafah, in the farthest south of the Gaza Strip, displaced families find themselves locked in a relentless battle against an unforgiving foe: a crippling scarcity of water amidst the Israeli aggression.
In long queues snaking through one of these camps, hundreds of displaced individuals patiently await their turn, clutching empty containers, hoping to fill them with the precious resource they so desperately need. Among them stands Saad Al-Tarabeen, aged 45, accompanied by his family of nine, enduring the agonizing wait for water that has eluded them for the past two days, despite their urgent need for it.
The scarcity of water stems from the lack of consistent electricity and fuel needed to operate water pumping stations continuously. Al-Tarabeen, like hundreds of other displaced families in Rafah, is living in dire conditions due to this shortage of water, which is fundamental to life itself.
These temporary camps in Rafah, home to approximately 1.3 million people, have become a refuge for many families displaced by the ongoing Israeli war of genocide, offering little respite as they grapple with the harsh realities of their situation.
Al-Tarabeen tells Anadolu Agency, “Since yesterday until now, I haven’t gotten a single drop of water. With the onset of summer, our need for water only increases.”
He continues, “The smallest camp in Rafah houses 80 to 90 families, and the water supply reaches it for only two hours, not on a daily basis, and this is not sufficient for those families.”
Highlighting the critical importance of water, he notes that an individual requires 40 to 50 liters of water daily under normal circumstances, yet they struggle to obtain even 2 liters per day.
He further explains that conditions in the displacement camps and Gaza as a whole worsen each day due to the continued Israeli aggression and blockade. Al-Tarabeen hopes for assistance and support from the international community and fervently seeks peace to end the cycle of war.
Meanwhile, Um Suhaib Yassin, a 40-year-old mother, waits anxiously outside her tent as her children eagerly return with a jerrycan filled with water, a precious treasure to her.
“In the displacement camps, we face many problems, most notably the water issue,” she says. “Water rarely comes daily for a period ranging from two to three hours, making it difficult for us to meet our needs, given the large number of displaced people.”
She adds, “We spend our entire day searching for water, especially during the month of Ramadan.”
She expresses her wish for the war to end, for peace to prevail, and for water to be readily available in Gaza, hoping that Rafah will not witness any more military offensive.
