Gaza Municipality: Thousands of families without water for a week and heading towards a severe thirst crisis

SadaNews - On Saturday, the Gaza Municipality stated that thousands of families in the eastern areas of the city have been suffering from a complete water cutoff for about a week, due to the Israeli army preventing its crews from reaching to maintain the water wells damaged by the shelling.

The municipality clarified in a statement that "the occupation prevents our crews from reaching the east of the city to maintain some of the water wells."

It pointed out that "thousands of families in eastern Gaza have not received any water for about a week. "

The municipality warned of a "severe thirst crisis amidst rising temperatures and continued displacement," and confirmed that residents are facing increasing difficulties in obtaining water.

The municipality also accused the Israeli army of "intentionally shelling a water desalination station," at a time when residents are suffering from difficult humanitarian conditions and a severe shortage of basic services.

According to official Palestinian data from last May, individual water consumption in Gaza has decreased from about 84.6 liters daily before the war to between 3 and 5 liters daily, which is significantly below the minimum recommended by the World Health Organization in emergencies (which ranges between 7.5 and 15 liters per person per day).

On May 9, UNICEF stated in a statement that between 65 and 70% of Gaza's water system has been destroyed due to the war, making it "almost impossible" to deliver water through the old networks, forcing relief teams to distribute water via trucks, despite the significant obstacles resulting from fuel shortages.

UNICEF spokesperson Jonathan Cricks emphasized that fuel scarcity not only hinders water transportation but also leads to the shutdown of desalination plants.

The statement noted that "90% of families face extreme difficulty in obtaining sufficient drinking water and are even unable to secure water for cleaning a newborn baby."

Israel continues its systematic starvation policy against about 2.4 million Palestinians in Gaza by closing the crossings to aid that has been piled up at the borders since March 2, which has pushed the sector into a state of famine and led to many deaths.