Gaza Joint WASH Assessment Report – August 2025

 Gaza Joint WASH Assessment Report – August 2025

UNICEF and WASH Cluster Partners
Click here for the full report: Gaza Joint WASH Assessment Report, August 2025 (PDF)

Summary
The August 2025 Gaza Joint WASH Assessment, led by the State of Palestine WASH Cluster with UNICEF as Cluster Lead Agency, provides a grim snapshot of Gaza’s water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) situation after nearly two years of war and blockade. Conducted between August 17 and September 5, 2025, it found that 86% of Gaza was inaccessible, and that water and sanitation infrastructure had largely collapsed. Fuel shortages and restrictions on essential imports continue to cripple basic services.

Nearly one million people receive less than six liters of safe water daily for drinking and cooking—well below the survival threshold. Another half million receive less than nine liters for domestic use, leaving families unable to maintain hygiene or clean their living spaces. Two-thirds of households lack soap, while nearly half have not cleaned their water containers in a week. Half of all households depend on water trucks, with long queues and safety concerns, and children are primary water collectors in 15% of homes.

No residents currently have access to safely managed sanitation. Over half the population is exposed to sewage or fecal matter near their homes, and one-fifth use buckets for excreta disposal. Roughly 1.3 million people lack soap, and nearly half a million women and girls lack menstrual hygiene materials. Health consequences are severe—acute watery diarrhea cases have nearly doubled, and skin diseases and lice infestations are widespread due to unsanitary and overcrowded conditions.

Despite emergency interventions by UNICEF, UNRWA, and 35 WASH partners providing water trucking and limited repairs, Gaza’s overall WASH system remains on the brink of collapse. The report urges donors to fund repairs, fuel imports, and hygiene supplies under a “no-regrets” approach, and calls on decision-makers to guarantee a ceasefire and unimpeded humanitarian access to restore essential services.

Quotes

• “Nearly half the population receives less than six liters of drinking water per person per day.”

• “No residents currently have access to safely managed sanitation, as defined by SDG 6.2.”

• “Over 1.3 million people lacked access to soap, and 92% cited high cost as the main barrier.”

• “Without a secure operational environment, reliable supply chains, and sustained funding, the WASH response cannot meet the urgent needs of Gaza’s 2.1 million residents.”