95% of Gazans lack safe drinking water, risking disease

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
4 Nov 2023 10:51
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UN voices concerns as Gaza's water needs are currently only 5% fulfilled, imperiling the lives of 2 million Palestinians, half of them children.

Palestinians wait to fill containers with fresh water in the aftermath of Israeli strikes in Gaza City on October 28, 2023. (AFP)

Palestinians are queuing for extended periods to access tainted water they suspect is causing their health issues, which might lead to death.

Lines of individuals waiting to fill jerry cans have become a common sight in the region due to the growing scarcity of water. This scarcity is a consequence of a total Israeli blockade on Gaza. Electricity, clean water, and fuel have all run out, and there are no medical supplies or lifesaving treatments.

None of the water pipelines from occupied Palestine into Gaza are operational, and there is a leak in a pipe connecting the southern towns of Rafah and Khan Yunis, as reported by the UN.

'My kids have been suffering'

Eman Basher, a teacher, posted on social media that her children had become sick from consuming polluted water as "Israel" has cut off any access to clean water sources in Gaza.

“My kids have been suffering from stomach flu with symptoms including abdominal cramps, vomiting and diarrhea, which I always assumed is the normal result of sleeping on the floor or change of weather, just to learn that it is caused by contaminated water we drink daily and queue for hours to get,” said Basher.

“We’ve been drinking this water for 15 days and fighting to get it,” she added.

The UN reports that a mere 5% of Gaza's water requirements are currently being fulfilled. Aid trucks from Egypt, which arrived on Wednesday, brought sufficient water to sustain 15,000 individuals for a single day. With over 1.4 million residents now displaced in the area.

Just a humanitarian band-aid!

In the best-case scenario, this inadequate relief acts as a band-aid, but all too often, it is deployed inadequately and belatedly amid the ongoing genocide in Gaza. The act of besieging an already vulnerable territory exacerbates the damage, making any aid in the form of biscuits, water, and shrouds insufficient for adequate recovery. A humanitarian catastrophe is imminent, potentially resulting in the loss of thousands of lives many of whom are children.

Gaza has been facing water access challenges since "Israel" imposed a blockade in 2007, which led to groundwater sources getting polluted due to overuse. The situation has deteriorated further as "Israel" tightened the blockade last month.

Fuel shortages have hindered Gaza's desalination plants from operating at their full capacity, affecting water supply to homes and transportation by trucks. Additionally, sewage treatment plants are inactive due to fuel shortages, resulting in wastewater flowing into the sea and further contaminating the coastal aquifer.

According to James Elder, who represents UNICEF, a significant number of individuals can only access brackish water.

“Gaza’s water production capacity is a mere 5% of its usual daily output. Child deaths – particularly infants – to dehydration are a growing threat,” he said.

“If there is no ceasefire, no water, no medicine?’ said Elder. “Then we hurtle towards even greater horrors afflicting innocent children.”