Oxfam said that less than seven percent of pre-conflict water levels is available to Palestinians in north and south Gaza, heightening the spread of waterborne diseases and worsening a health catastrophe in the enclave, reports Al Jazeera.
In the North Gaza governorate, which includes Jabalia, Beit Hanoon and Beit Lahiya, the Israeli military has destroyed almost all water wells have been destroyed, while in the southern Rafah governorate, over 90 percent of water wells and reservoirs have been partially or completely damaged, and water production is less than five per cent of its capacity before the conflict, it said.
And despite efforts to resume water production following the ceasefire, the destruction of Gaza’s water pipelines means that 60 per cent of water is leaking into the ground rather than reaching people, it said.
“Now that the bombs have stopped, we have only just begun to grasp the sheer scale of destruction to Gaza’s water and sanitation infrastructure. Most vital water and sanitation networks have been entirely lost or paralyzed, creating catastrophic hygiene and health conditions,” said Clemence Lagouardat, Oxfam’s Humanitarian Coordinator in Gaza.
“Our staff and partners have told how people are stopping them in the streets asking for water, and that parents are not drinking to save water for their children. It is heartbreaking to hear about children having to walk for miles for a single jerrycan of water.”
Bd-pratidin English/Tanvir Raihan
