Gaza water problem: more than 2 million people are at risk
The Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, made a written statement on what happened after Israel decided to cut off water, electricity, food and other basic services to Gaza under blockade on October 8.
Noting that more than 2 million people are at risk due to water depletion across the Gaza Strip, Lazzarini said: “No humanitarian aid materials have been allowed to be delivered to Gaza for a week. This has now become a matter of life and death. “Fuel needs to be delivered to Gaza to provide water to more than 2 million people.” he said.
Lazzarini stated that drinking water is running out because water facilities and public water networks in the Gaza Strip are not working, and people are forced to use dirty water drawn from wells.
Stating that “This increases the risk of waterborne diseases,” Lazzarini emphasized that power outages in Gaza since October 11 also affected the water supply.
The Israeli army continued its attacks on the blockaded Gaza Strip for the eighth day. Palestinians, trying to survive in a region where there is no electricity, water, food or fuel, lined up outside bakeries to buy bread. (Abed Rahim Khatib – Anadolu Agency)
Lazzarini noted that thousands of people gathered in the south of the city after Israel warned civilians living in northern Gaza to leave their homes, and shared information that the UN base in the south of the Gaza Strip, where UNRWA continues its work, has been left without drinking water.
Emphasizing that hundreds of thousands of Gaza civilians have been displaced in the last 12 hours alone, Lazzarini said: “The migration of people to the southern regions of the Gaza Strip continues. “Almost a million people were displaced in Gaza in just one week.” he said.
Lazzarini stressed that fuel trucks must reach Gaza and said: “Fuel is the only way for people to get to drinking water. Otherwise, people, including young children, the elderly, and women, will begin to die from severe dehydration. “I call for the immediate lifting of the siege on humanitarian aid.” he made the assessment of it. (AA)