As soon as the radio announces the start of the daily three-to-four-hour lull, thousands of people race from their homes, laden with water containers of all shapes and sizes, and head for fountains, mosques, schools or any other public water source.

At home, for many families, the taps have run dry.

"As soon as I heard that there was another of the three-hour truces, I came down to the fountain," says Kamel al-Hamami, an empty water container in each hand as he nears the front of a queue of around 20 people.

Hamami lives in Zeitun, a neighbourhood which has seen some of the heaviest exchanges between Hamas fighters and Israeli troops, and where running water is now a distant memory.

"I've come here with my children, and they've also got containers so that we can fill up our 500-litre water tank on the roof of our home."

Some of Gaza's more resourceful residents have sought to make a swift buck out of the shortages, with hawkers selling jerrycans for up to ten shekels (about 2.5 dollars/two euros) a go.

Since the start of the war, unleashed by Israel on December 27, the Gaza Strip has become an increasingly dangerous place to live. At least 1,188 Palestinians, including 410 children, have been killed and 5,285 wounded.

"The tanks may be firing, but we don't have any other choice. Water is a really big problem and we've not had any at home for the last three weeks," says Abed al-Khatib, 33, another resident of Zeitun.

"I have to send my children to fill up the jerry cans from taps at the school in Majdal, which is about a kilometre (half a mile) away from the house," adds Khatib who also ventures outside, even though he knows the lull is not always strictly observed.

In family homes throughout Gaza, every drop of water is sacred. Over the past three weeks, many households have stopped washing clothes and dishes, and having a shower is also very rare.

"They're sending us back to the dark ages. It's unjust and amounts to a form of collective punishment," says Khatib.

"What have my children, what have any of the children of Gaza done?"

In the Rimal neighbourhood of downtown Gaza, queues are also forming in front of public fountains and mosques, where the taps are still running.

"We've got to have drinking water. As we no longer get it at home, we've come out in our car to find it," says Mohammed Abed, 35, clutching several water containers in his hands.

Munzir Shublak, an official at Gaza's water utility, says three-quarters of people in the coastal strip have been without water in their homes for the past two weeks.

"The majority of the wells are in northern Gaza and to the east of Gaza City where most of the Israeli forces are assembled. Forty percent of the water sources are no longer available."

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