GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Every day, Mohammed Maqadima, 14, must carry water in gallon bottles from a water tank 500 meters (546 yards) from his home in the Sha'af neighborhood east of Gaza City. This is so his mother can do the housework. He also spends hours collecting firewood for heating, with the weather getting colder as winter approaches.

Mohammed told Al-Monitor, “I must cross this distance three times a day to carry water to the house. Since the water well in the area was destroyed, we do not receive water service at all.” He said once the tank is empty, residents have to wait for the arrival of water trucks to fill it again.

Large parts of the Gaza Strip, particularly those intensively bombed by the Israeli occupation during the July 27-Aug. 26 conflict, are experiencing complex crises. The first is that the water system is destroyed, which requires thousands of people to carry water long distances. The second is that power lines and poles were also destroyed. This has forced people to look for alternatives for heating and lighting, and for ways to protect themselves from the cold and rain inside damaged houses as winter approaches.

The director general of the Department of Sanitation in Gaza municipality, Saad Eddine Alatbash, said his municipality has not finished repairing the infrastructure, particularly the water and sanitation systems. He noted that large areas are not yet receiving water services, including the neighborhoods of Shajaiya, Sha'af and Toufah, as well as large parts of the Sheikh Radwan district.