Gaza’s water supply is down more than 75 percent from before the war due to Israel’s destruction of water supply lines [Getty]
Two desalination plants in the central Gaza city of Deir al-Balah were forced to close after Israeli forces cut electricity supplies, which could leave thousands of Palestinians without access to clean water.
The Deir al-Balah municipality warned of a looming humanitarian disaster after the South Sea and Basra desalination plants ceased operations due to a lack of power.
The two plants produce around 20,000 cubic metres of desalinated water per day, supplying around 70 percent of the area’s residents.
“The loss of this vital water source will severely affect domestic use, hospitals, and shelters, amid almost non-existent alternative water sources as a result of the destruction of more than three-quarters of the water wells in the Gaza Strip,” Maher Ashour Salem, Gaza Municipality’s Director General of Planning, Water and Sanitation, said in a statement.
The current supply of water in Gaza is more than 75 percent down from before the war, due to Israel‘s destruction of water supply lines, Salam said.
It comes as Israel cut all entry of aid to Gaza on Monday, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warning of “other consequences” if Hamas does not accept an extension of the first phase of the ceasefire.
The move drew criticism from key truce mediators Egypt and Qatar, as well as from other regional governments, the United Nations and some of Israel’s allies.
Humanitarian groups have urged Israel to allow the entry of aid, highlighting that its prevention contravenes international law.
“Under International Humanitarian Law, Israel is obligated to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid, regardless of whether or not the ceasefire holds. The IRC currently has 6.7 tonnes of much-needed pharmaceutical and medical supplies due to enter,” the International Rescue Committee (IRC) said in a statement.
“Once in Gaza, these will provide urgent and life-saving trauma care to thousands of people and offer critical support to a health system on the verge of collapse. Due to arrive later this week, their onward delivery to hospitals in dire need is now highly uncertain.”
Since the start of Israel’s assault on Gaza in October 2023, aid to Gaza has been tightly controlled and blocked, with Israel accused of deliberately starving Gaza’s population.
In November, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, including for using starvation as a weapon of war.
Israel’s assault on Gaza has largely come to a pause since a 19 January ceasefire was enforced and saw the exchange of 33 Israeli captives and five Thais for some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
