Israel’s attacks have destroyed almost 1,700 kilometers of the water and sanitation network of Gaza
The Oxfam Intermón organization has warned that Israel’s attacks against the Gaza Strip have destroyed about 1,700 kilometers of the water and sanitation network of the Palestinian enclave.
After 15 months of war, the continuous Israeli bombings on the strip have ended hundreds of kilometers from the network, especially in the north of the enclave and in the southern city of Rafah. In these areas, water levels are barely located in 7% of what was registered before October 7, 2023, when Israel was attacked and the conflict unleashed.
In the province of Gaza del Norte, Israeli attacks have destroyed practically all water wells. Once the fire was reached, some 700,000 people have returned to the area and their razed neighborhoods have been found and the few houses that remain standing do not have water due to the destruction of the storage tanks that are usually in the roofs .
In the city of Rafah, in the south, more than 90% of wells and reservoirs have been partially or totally damaged, and water production is less than 5% of its capacity prior to the conflict. Today, only 2 of the 35 water wells in the area are operational.
In total, Oxfam Intermón estimates that more than 80% of the infrastructure of the strip has been partially or totally destroyed, including the six main wastewater treatment plants, where most pumping stations have also been destroyed. 85% of desalination plants have been damaged and 67% of all municipal wells have been destroyed.
“Now that the pumps have ceased, we have hardly begun to understand the magnitude of the destruction of the water and sanitation infrastructure of Gaza,” said the Humanitarian Coordinator of Oxfam Intermón in Gaza, Clémence Lagouardat, who has influenced that the majority From these facilities “they have been completely lost or paralyzed,” turning the hygiene and health conditions in “catastrophic”.
The lack of drinking water, added to the overflow of wastewater, has triggered an explosion of infectious diseases. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 88% of the environmental samples examined in Gaza are contaminated with polio, indicating an “imminent risk of outbreak”; In addition, diarrhea and respiratory infections are also increasing.
“Despite the increase in aid from Alto El Fuego, Israel continues to prevent the critical articles from arriving to begin to repair the enormous structural damage caused by its air attacks. This includes pipes that are desperately needed to repair water and sanitation networks, and equipment as generators to operate wells, ”added Lagouardat. (EP)
