By Hajira Khota                                                                                                                                                             14.10.2021

Families who do not have access to clean water and sanitation experience health issues.

Many Palestinians in Gaza must buy their drinking water from private agencies because municipal tap water is frequently unavailable due to prolonged power outages and is often too salty to drink even when it is accessible.

The suspension of Gaza’s only operational power plant has added to the urgency, with the water utility saying that it will not be able to run water and sanitary facilities if the power goes out.

More than 97 percent of Gaza’s drinking water is deemed unsafe for human consumption. Larger systems have been damaged or destroyed as a result of Israeli bombardment, or are out of use due to a lack of maintenance, the majority of the people consume water from private filters. Gaza is currently unable to provide enough water to its 2 million residents.

According to current data supplied in the joint statement, about a quarter of the diseases disseminated in Gaza are caused by water pollution, and 12 percent of the mortality of children and newborns are due to intestinal diseases directly related to the drinking water.

The Israeli embargo of Gaza severely restricts the flow of goods, making it extremely difficult to build water and sanitation infrastructure to fulfill the demands of a rapidly rising population.

Marwan  Bardawill from the Palestinian Water Authority spoke to Radio Islam International, he says that the Gaza strip is a narrow strip and is considered as one of the highest populated areas all around the world.

For years, human rights organisations have warned about the Gaza Strip’s deteriorating water situation.

Since 2006, about 2 million Palestinians living in Gaza have been subjected to an Israeli siege as well as severe economic and travel restrictions.

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