Lack of clean drinking water for 95% of people in Gaza threatens health crisis

A queue for water in Rafah. People are waiting for hours to get water in Gaza after Israel cut supplies but often it is polluted or brackish. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty

Palestinians who fled to southern Gaza, after warnings from Israel to leave their homes, are standing in line for hours to get contaminated water they believe is making them ill.

Long queues of people waiting to fill jerry cans are now ubiquitous across the territory as water becomes increasingly scarce, a result of restrictions on water and power imposed by Israel.