Rima al-Swisi
The Electronic Intifada / August 10, 2026
Most mornings at al-Deira displacement camp, northwest of Gaza City, the women gather in the open air, outside the tents, to drink coffee and commiserate.
Life is hard at this camp, and the women have a lot to talk about: poverty, illnesses, problems with their husbands, and how to get aid.
I live near the camp, and a friend of mine, knowing I am a journalist, told me about these morning meetings, thinking I might like to attend.
I joined one morning in July, and it did not take much time for me to understand what most troubled the women: a lack of sanitary and accessible toilets, and the health problems that have come as a result.
Al-Deira camp is a temporary home to around 70 displaced families that is spread across three dunams, or a bit less than an acre of land, according to the camp coordinator Ayda al-Kiyali.
A minority of the families have private toilets, she said, but the majority of people living in the camp must share three public toilets.
These public toilets do not have plumbing and sewage infrastructure. Instead, they are simple holes in the sandy ground.
Privacy is also lacking, as the toilet area, a space of about two by two meters, is enclosed by old blankets. The odour is very bad.
For many, a trip to the toilet can mean a walk of up to 25 meters. This is not a walk that many women feel comfortable making in the dark, especially because of the dogs that roam around at night, scavenging through the trash.
The women describe holding their urine all night and not drinking water, to prevent a journey to the toilet. Several of them have developed kidney stones and serious health problems, not to mention the mental toll of not having access to a toilet.
I visited with the women individually, at their tents, to talk more about the situation.
‘I live in hell’
Wa’ad Matar (32) is a mother to four children and is currently seven months pregnant.
She used to live with her husband Mahmoud (33) and their family at al-Karama Towers, but they were forced to live in the camp after Israeli planes bombed the building in December 2025. Before this, her husband endured an injury in his neck from shrapnel from an Israeli attack.
We sat inside her tattered tent with a UN logo on it, with Matar holding her 18-month-old girl.
“I felt ill all night long,” she said. “I had severe stomach pain as if I was in labour. I waited till the morning and I went to the doctor.”
She visited a medical tent at the camp and the doctor told her she had kidney stones.
“The doctor’s words were a shock to me,” she said, describing how, when the doctor asked about her routine, she was embarrassed to tell him that she held her “urine all night long, as the toilet is far away from the tent.”
Her medical issues stemming from the toilet situation have compounded over time and include urinary tract infections and renal colic. She cannot afford the medicine and must rely on what she can obtain for free.
“I live in hell due to the tough circumstances in which we live,” she said.
The doctor further told her that malnutrition and complications could impact the baby’s health.
Yet Matar does not see the situation at the camp improving in the future.
Improvised toilets fall short
Ayda al-Kiyali, from the camp committee that helps run day-to-day affairs, said that the camp leadership tries “to provide the tents with private toilets, yet what is needed goes far beyond our abilities.”
“Women in the tents suffer a lot,” she said, and she estimated that “only 20 percent of those living in the camp have a good private toilet.”
Among the women, the connection between their health issues and the lack of access to a sanitary and private toilet is clear, and it is not unique to the women in al-Deira camp, as nearly one million people in Gaza live in tents due to Israel’s systematic destruction of housing and infrastructure.
All across Gaza’s tent camps, improvised toilets are being constructed, as materials such as piping and toilet seats come at a high cost. The cheapest method is to dig a hole in the ground. Yet even these private toilets being dug inside of tents can feel humiliating and unsanitary.
As of July 2026, 87 percent of Gaza’s households face “barriers to accessing toilets or latrines,” with the top impediment being a lack of access to water and the secondary obstacles being a lack of privacy, cleanliness issues and fear of rodents or pests, according to a UNICEF-led group, the Gaza WASH Cluster.
Afraid to go to the toilet
Sally Said (21) was married two months ago.
She said the couple had no choice but to get married in their tent.
Her husband’s family lives in Al-Deira camp as well, and she uses their toilet, which is located outside the tent and about 12 meters away.
She does not feel comfortable using the toilet at night.
“I don’t use it at night,” she said. “I feel afraid from the bombing as currently the tents are targeted mostly at night … I also don’t drink water in the evening at all so as to avoid going to the toilet.”
In July, she started to feel discomfort and itching, and she was having trouble urinating in general.
She visited the camp doctor and was told that she had high levels of salt and a urinary tract infection. The doctor further said that she was at risk of kidney stones.
“I don’t know what to do,” she said. “I pay for this situation from my health.”
Private toilet bombed
Hanan al-Gerem (50) lives in a tent with her husband Nabil (55) who has cancer.
“I am originally Egyptian,” she said. “I came to Gaza 18 years ago to marry Nabil. I tried to get out of Gaza during the war, but it was in vain,” due to the Israeli closure of the Rafah crossing.
She and her husband arrived at Al-Deira after their home in northern Gaza City was bombed in December 2025.
She uses the communal toilet since, three weeks ago, “an Israeli plane fired a number of missiles on a nearby tent,” and this destroyed the private toilet.
Al-Gerem said they have no income and rely on aid.
“I sometimes have to wait 40 minutes to access the toilet,” she said. “This waiting costs me a lot.”
Al-Gerem has a urinary tract infection and also regularly has blood in her urine.
“I did some medical tests, [and] a doctor told me that I have a gallstone and that I have to drink a lot of water and take medications.”
Al-Gerem described the communal toilet as a “crisis,” and, like the other women who live in Al-Deira camp, she does not see the situation improving.
Rima al-Swisi is a journalist and social activist from Gaza
