The Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed Saturday that the whole population of Gaza is drinking unsafe water "because of the closure of the public health laboratory and the inability to test drinking water... that puts their lives at risk."

In its statement, the ministry attributed the disaster to "Israel's" refusal to allow chlorine or any alternative for testing and treating drinking water.

Since the beginning of "Israel's" aggression on #Gaza, "Israel" has imposed a complete blockade on the Gaza Strip, impeding aid and access to food, fuel, water as well as other basic human necessities, according to Euro-Med Monitor. pic.twitter.com/f9NyrCFHca

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) January 18, 2024

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In addition, the amount of waste accumulating is leading to the spread of disease, the ministry warned, as cases of meningitis and hepatitis have already been detected.

In a related context, Salama Marouf, the Head of Gaza's Government Media Office, reported last week that hundreds in the Strip have contracted respiratory diseases due to the use of wood, coal, debris from buildings, plastic materials, and chemicals as alternatives to fuel in order to ignite fires, thus emitting toxic gases.

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The Israeli blockade on Gaza has been preventing the entry of crucial necessities such as cooking gas and various other types of fuels, especially in the northern and central parts of Gaza, the official noted.

Numbers of registered cases of persons affected by respiratory diseases have spiked as a result of citizens relying on igniting fires with unsafe materials for prolonged hours daily over the past months, whether for cooking, heating water, or even illumination purposes.