Gazans try to find clean water as sources become more scarce

Gaza/Cairo:

Hundreds of thousands of residents of Gaza lost the only source of clean water last week after supplies from the Water Utile of Israel were cut by the renewed offensive, municipal power of the Israeli army in the territory.

Many now have to walk, sometimes in a mile, to get a small filling of water after shelling of the Israeli military and land in the eastern neighborhood of the city of Gaza, damaged the pipeline, which was driven by the State Mekoro.

“I waited for water from the morning,” said 42-year-old Gaza Fathen Nassar. “There are no stations and no trucks. There is no water. The crossing is closed. Oh I wish the war will end safely and peacefully.”

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a comment.

Israel ordered the residents of Shezia to evacuate last week when he began an offensive, in which several areas were bombed. The military previously stated that he was acting against “terrorist infrastructure” and killed a senior leader.

Medkoro pipeline supplied 70% of the water of the city of Gaza since the destruction of most of its wells during the war, the municipal power says.

“The situation is very complicated, and everything is complicated, especially when it comes to the daily life of people and their daily water needs, whether it is for cleaning, disinfection and even cooking and drinking,” said Husny Mhan, a press secretary of the municipality.

“Now we live in a real thirst crisis in the city of Gaza, and we could face a difficult reality in the coming days if the situation remains the same.”

Deterioration of the water crisis

Most 2.3 million gases have become internally displaced war, many daily trips to fill plastic containers with water from several wells, which are still functioning in remote areas – and they do not even guarantee clean stocks.

Water for drinking, cooking and washing is increasingly a luxury for the residents of Gaza after the start of the war between Israel and the Palestinian group of Hamas fighters, whose fighters have carried out the decent attack for decades on Israel in October 2023, killing 1,200 people in South.

Since then, more than 50,800 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli military campaign, the Palestinian authorities said.

Many residents in the queue of Enquary within hours to get one water, which is usually not enough for their daily needs.

“I go long distances. I’m tired. I’m old, I’m not young to walk around every day to get water,” said 64-year-old Adele Al-Hurani.

The only natural source of Gaza’s water is the basin of coastal aquifers that runs along the Eastern Mediterranean coast from the Northern Sinai Peninsula in Egypt, through gas and Israel.

But its salt tap water is heavily depleted, with up to 97% considered unusable by humans due to salinity, excessive extraction and contamination.

The Palestinian water administration stated that most of its wells were disabled during the war.

On March 22, a joint statement of the Palestinian Bureau of Statistics and water management said more than 85% of water and sanitation and gas assets were completely or partially out of service.

The Palestinian and officials of the United Nations stated that most of the gases were either damaged or stopped by operations due to the force and reduction of Israel’s fuel.

“Due to the great damage, which were carried out by the water and sanitation sector, the water supply level decreased by an average of 3-5 liters per person per day,” the message reads.

It was much lower than a minimum of 15 liters per person per day for emergency survival, according to the World Health Organization, added.

(With the exception of the title, this story was not edited by NDTV staff and published from the syndiced channel.)