People gather with jerrycans and other containers to collect water from a tanker cistern in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip

Gaza

Why Gaza? Since the beginning of the current conflict in late 2023, more than 72,000 Palestinians have reportedly been killed and another 171,830 injured between October 2023 and March 2026. Almost the entire population of Gaza (2.1 million people) are currently in need.

The threat of water-borne diseases

In 2026 the UN launched a new flash appeal seeking US$3.72 billion to meet the needs of 2.1 million people inside Gaza, with the main areas for support being food security, cash, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and health.

More than 90% of aid supplies from INGOs is still blocked from entering Gaza and only the UN and a very limited number of INGOs can successfully transport the necessary supplies across the borders.

When storms and flooding are in full force, families are faced with water-logged tents and bedding and risks of water borne diseases. Cholera and other diseases are a risk as sewage mixes with flood water entering the tents which are now more than two years old and in a state of disrepair.

Latest achievements

Clean water

Almost 70,000 people reached in 2025 with clean drinking water every two days through our partner organisation CESVI, with whom we teamed up in the first months of the current crisis.

Rehabilitation of water and sanitation facilities

Supporting children in need of dialysis

Mohammad takes containers to refill at a water distribution point in Gaza, 15th December 2025. Photo: Abood Al Sayd / DEC.

Ahmad, a water engineer with Concern's partner organisation CESVI, oversees a potable water distribution in Gaza, 16th December 2025. Photo: Abood Al Sayd / DEC.

Child on tricycle cycles through destroyed buildings in Gaza

Displaced Palestinians, taking refuge in Bureij Refugee Camp, start to return their houses after the announcement of ceasefire. Photo: Anadolu/Getty Images