For Rida Abu Hadayed, summer adds a new layer of misery to a daily struggle to survive in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip.

 

With temperatures exceeding 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit), daybreak begins with the cries of Hadayed’s seven children sweltering inside the displaced family’s cramped nylon tent. Outside, the humidity is unbearable.

 

The only way the 32-year-old mother can offer her children relief is by fanning them with a tray or bits of paper — whatever she can find. If she has water, she pours it over them, but that is an increasingly scarce resource.

 

In Gaza, summer heat amplifies the daily struggle to survive

Happier pictures and a video amidst the hardship

 

On the beaches of Khan Younis, families seek brief relief in the water, while parents fear the spread of illness due to limited access to clean supplies.

 

With no electricity and water supplies running low, residents say the conditions are becoming unbearable.

 

Aid agencies warn that collapsing water infrastructure, fuel shortages, and unsanitary conditions could trigger a wave of disease across already strained communities.

 

Gaza families turn to the sea as heat and water crisis worsens

 

3 hours ago, bannork said:

Happier pictures and a video amidst the hardship

 

On the beaches of Khan Younis, families seek brief relief in the water, while parents fear the spread of illness due to limited access to clean supplies.

 

With no electricity and water supplies running low, residents say the conditions are becoming unbearable.

 

Aid agencies warn that collapsing water infrastructure, fuel shortages, and unsanitary conditions could trigger a wave of disease across already strained communities.

 

Gaza families turn to the sea as heat and water crisis worsens

 

A day at the sea.

 

 

A fuel crisis in Gaza, caused by an Israeli blockade, has forced several municipalities to suspend key services, such as waste collection and sewage treatment, threatening to exacerbate disease and suffering in the war-torn territory.

 

In a joint statement, the affected municipalities in central and southern Gaza said they have had to halt these services because of Israeli restrictions on the import of petrol and diesel into the coastal strip.

 

The statement, which was signed by the municipal authorities of Khan Younis and Rafah, among others, also said that equipment for clearing rubble could not be used due to fuel shortages, and that wells had been closed.

 

Gaza authorities suspend key services due to Israeli fuel blockade

A severe heatwave is gripping Gaza, compounding the humanitarian crisis for more than 1.7 million displaced Palestinians already facing acute shortages of medical care, food and basic supplies after months of the Israel-Hamas war. 

 

Medical workers say soaring temperatures are worsening the condition of patients sheltering in overcrowded tent camps, where access to treatment is limited and many lack relief from the heat. 

 

The situation is particularly dire for thousands of people requiring ongoing care for burns and other serious injuries. 

 

Heatwave compounds crisis for Gaza's displaced and injured