Bathing once every 10 days: The reality of northern Gaza’s water crisis

Gaza families face a dire water crisis after the ceasefire and struggle to survive in the destroyed north.

Beit Lahiya, Gaza, Palestine – Amid towering piles of rubble and destruction, mother of five Faten Abu Haloub, her family and her in-laws have set up adjacent tents on the ruins of what used to be their extended family home.

Her husband Karam’s parents – 60-year-old Dalal and 65-year-old Nasser – have eight children, three sons and five daughters, of whom two still live at home.

Home is now the little tent next to Karam and Faten’s with a fire pit in front and makeshift “zones”.

There’s the kitchen – no more than a few wooden planks to rest cooking utensils and their meagre food supplies on – near the fire.

Off to the side is the bathroom, a stone-lined hole dug in the sand that serves as a latrine with more stones marking out a tiny bathing area, the whole section shielded by blankets draped over sticks stuck upright in the ground.