RAFIF ISLEM

Gaza — Since the outbreak of war, the Gaza Strip has witnessed profound field and humanitarian transformations that have directly affected the lives and living conditions of its population. The crisis is no longer limited to human losses or urban destruction but has extended to include various aspects of basic life, from water, electricity, and health to housing and public services.

Israel is preparing to tighten control over approximately 70% of the Gaza Strip's area, leaving the population confined to just 30% of the sector without any services—particularly sanitation and housing—which will cause serious health, environmental, economic, and social problems as a result of squeezing over two million people into 109 square kilometers out of the original 365 square kilometers.

Political researcher Dana Haboub explains that talk of Israeli control over about 70% of Gaza's area cannot be reduced to control over land or kilometers alone; it must be viewed as a radical change in the population's relationship with resources. Gaza, which extended over 365 square kilometers before the attack, had its population distributed within this space. Today, with Israeli control extending to about 65% of the sector, population density will be concentrated in an area of less than one-third of the sector.

She pointed out that the problem does not lie solely in the narrowness of the space but in the fact that this third to which the population will be pushed is almost devoid of basic services, especially infrastructure that was already unable to meet needs before the attack. She noted that 74% of road networks have been destroyed or damaged, 88% of water and sanitation facilities are out of service, 76% of infrastructure lies under rubble, and about 90% of the energy system has been completely wiped out by the attacks.

Researcher Dana Haboub raises a central question about whether the remaining services are technically and operationally capable of absorbing this massive number of people. Humanitarian partners are currently able to operate in only 550 displacement sites out of 1,600 sites within the sector, meaning that one-third of displacement sites do not receive sufficient or sustainable support. Added to this is a 50% decline in water production since the beginning of May, at a time when temperatures are rising and the urgent need for water is increasing.

She drew attention to a highly dangerous indicator: the changing nature of infectious diseases within the Gaza Strip as a result of cramming large numbers of people into narrow, overcrowded spaces. From April 26 to May 30, data from the World Health Organization's Early Warning System showed a significant rise in infectious diseases.

According to the data, skin diseases topped the list at 30%, followed by acute watery diarrhea at 20%. Dana Haboub stressed that these disease patterns are not directly linked to military operations but are the product of overcrowding, the collapse of sewage networks, and deteriorating water quality.

She added that health indicators now clearly reflect the deterioration of living conditions and the lack of basic services. The economic indicator, which cannot be ignored, highlights the situation: prices of goods and services have risen by 235% compared to the period before October 7, and by 88% compared to the period following the ceasefire in October 2025. Thus, the problem is no longer about the availability of goods but about the population's ability to access them.

Regarding the Cairo negotiations, she indicated that the problem does not lie in the negotiation process itself but in the fact that negotiations are conducted within a field environment that changes daily. During the negotiation period, military strikes continued, and the death toll rose to more than 950 Palestinians killed during the expansion of Israeli forces' control over what is known as the "Yellow Line." This means that negotiators are dealing with "a reality that is reshaped every day."

Researcher Dana Haboub concluded that the most dangerous thing facing the sector today is not the percentage of land control but the accelerated divergence between three curves: the population that increases within a constantly shrinking space; the operational capacity of infrastructure that declines at a sharp pace; and humanitarian funding that decreases, forcing institutions to reduce their services.

When these three curves intersect, Dana Haboub says: "We are not facing a transient crisis but rather the sector's transition to a stage in which maintaining the minimum of daily services becomes nearly impossible."