Sewage system repairs help health facility on the brink.
Operating a hospital in a conflict zone, while under attack and with overwhelming numbers of wounded civilians in need of care, is difficult enough. Now imagine doing all of that without an operating sewage system.
This was the situation facing staff at the Nasser Medical Complex (NMC) in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, an institution the International Committee of the Red Cross describes as “indispensable to the health system in Gaza.” Israeli attacks had knocked out its sewage drainage system, clogging it with debris and damaging the pumps.
“The risk of the sewage system not functioning is a very serious disaster [at any hospital],” says Dr. Ahmad Al-Farra, the director of pediatrics and maternal medicine at Nasser Medical Complex. To avoid exposing patients to sewage containing microbes, bacteria, and parasites, NMC’s Director of Engineering and Maintenance Ismail Abu Al-Nimer called on Oxfam and local partner Palestinian Environmental Friends to help repair the damaged sewage drains to “prevent sewage water from flowing back into the hospital wards.”
The repairs at NMC were part of an initiative to support water access and sanitation systems repair in Khan Younis. Oxfam and partners repaired numerous storm water and wastewater networks that served 100,000 people in late 2024, including systems at NMC, along with installing latrines in nearby areas hosting 1,500 people displaced by the conflict.
Lives at risk in Gaza
The ongoing conflict in Gaza continues to threaten hospitals and other healthcare facilities, as well as water and sanitation systems. As of June 2025, nearly half (17 of 36) of the hospitals in Gaza are closed, and 89 percent of water and sanitation assets in Gaza are damaged, according to the UN.
Water and sanitation are part of Oxfam’s humanitarian assistance program carried out by staff based in Gaza working with partner organizations there. Access to clean water and functioning sanitation systems are essential to prevent water-borne diseases such as cholera, which can be deadly especially when it affects people already weakened by malnutrition. Lack of food is an increasingly severe problem in Gaza since the Israeli military blocked nearly all humanitarian assistance from entering Gaza in March.
We are also providing solid waste management, and mental health and psychosocial support across Gaza, particularly in displacement sites.
Siege of Gaza violating rights of civilians
Humanitarian efforts are compromised by Israel’s total siege on Gaza. More than $2.5 million worth of Oxfam assistance is stuck outside Gaza due to the aid blockade. Oxfam partners delivered their last food parcel on April 20. We are unable to carry out any food distributions or support people with goods because of the ongoing siege.
Oxfam is calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire and unhindered access to vital aid in Gaza, and the safe return of all hostages. “What is urgently needed is for all crossings to be opened to allow a full and proper humanitarian response that allows real access, with safe corridors and respect for international humanitarian law," says Bushra Khalidi, Oxfam’s policy lead in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Gaza.
Instead, both the U.S. and Israeli governments are supporting the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which is delivering a small fraction of the food needed in Gaza — food that recipients cannot cook without fuel and clean water. The aid is provided in places out of reach of the sick and injured people who need it, and it overlooks other urgent needs for shelter and medical assistance. Hundreds of aid recipients have been shot, killed, and wounded while attempting to access food assistance from the GHF.
“The GHF is a multimillion-dollar distraction from the actual causes — and solutions — of Gaza’s humanitarian crisis that also carries fatal risks for its intended beneficiaries,” says Oxfam America’s President and CEO Abby Maxman in a statement.
Since the sanitation system at Nasser Medical Complex was repaired by Oxfam and Palestinian Environmental Friends, it is still providing medical care despite being overwhelmed by wounded civilians and running short on basic supplies and fuel. The staff at NMC, including Dr. Farra, continue their struggle, and are urging the parties to the conflict to establish a ceasefire.
“We hope that the world will look with mercy and fully open the crossings, and allow everything needed for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip to enter,” he says.