In Gaza, delivering safe water is dangerous. “I’ve heard the sound of explosions while driving from one shelter to another. I feared that the next bomb would fall where I was working,” says Mahmoud Hneif, who has been driving trucks filled with clean drinking water for thousands of families who have fled their homes.
Mahmoud Hneif delivers water to people in schools and other shelters across Gaza.
Despite the ceasefire, there remain enormous humanitarian needs in Gaza. The bombing of the past six weeks has caused massive damage to Gaza’s water supplies. Hundreds of thousands of people are still without running water, as wells and pipelines have been destroyed. The bombing of Gaza’s only power plant means most areas now get just a few hours of electricity a day, making it hard to keep water pumps operating.
Since the start of the crisis Oxfam and local partner the Youth Empowerment Center (YEC) have delivered safe drinking water to more than 250,000 people who have taken refuge in overcrowded schools and other shelters across Gaza.
In the early days of the crisis, some people were so desperate they even filled their bottles when a few drops of water fell from the truck.