51s ago
Fears grow people are dehydrating to death in Gaza as clean water runs out
Bethan McKernan
Fears are growing that people in Gaza are beginning to dehydrate to death as clean water runs out, with Israeli airstrikes continuing to pound the Palestinian territory of 2.3 million residents amid a total blockade on
food, electricity, medicine and fuel.
Unrwa, the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees, said on Tuesday that Gaza’s
last seawater desalination plant had shut down, bringing the risk of further deaths and waterborne diseases such as cholera and dysentery. Six water wells, three water pumping stations, and one water reservoir – which collectively served more than 1.1million people – are also out of action, it said.
After 16 years of a joint Israeli-Egyptian blockade, imposed after the
Palestinian militant group Hamas seized control of the exclave in 2007, clean water was already one of the most pressing concerns in the 41km by 12km strip. Almost 97% of the water in Gaza’s sole aquifer is not potable; without proper maintenance and with Israeli restrictions on imports and electricity, sewage treatment plants were overwhelmed years ago. Untreated waste has flowed directly into the Mediterranean for more than a decade.
But now, desperate civilians find themselves consuming the contaminated tap water, or digging new wells too close to the sea to drink and use dirty, salty water.
Jamil al-Meqdad, a writer and researcher in
Gaza City, said:
Access to at least 50 litres of water per person is the minimum level set by the World Health Organization. Most people in Gaza are now believed to be surviving on three, the UN says.
Read the full report by The Guardian’s Jerusalem correspondent, Bethan McKernan.
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