Israel is not allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza, while fuel and electricity cuts shut down water plants.
Gaza: The United Nations says that water has become a matter of life and death for Gaza due to the Israeli siege.
The UN has sounded the alarm saying that more than two million Palestinians have very limited access to clean water.
Water has become a “matter of life and death” for the people of the Gaza Strip after Israel cut off its water supply, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has said. More than 2 million people are now at risk due to water scarcity.
“This has become a matter of life and death,” UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini said. Gaza is in dire need of fuel to provide water to two million people. According to UNRWA, it has been more than a week and Israel is not allowing the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Also read: Israel’s treacherous attack on migrants in Gaza, 70 Palestinians martyred
Clean water is running out in the Gaza Strip as water plants and government water lines stop working. Palestinians are now forced to use dirty water from wells, which increases the risk of spreading various diseases.
Israel has cut off electricity to Gaza since Wednesday, affecting water supplies.
Meanwhile, thousands of people have fled northern Gaza following the Israeli threat. The United Nations has called the displacement of 1.1 million people under various conditions “impossible” during the bombing. Nearly 1 million people have already been displaced in Gaza since last week.
“We urgently need to get fuel to Gaza,” says Philippe Lazzarini. Fuel is the only source of clean drinking water for people. If this is not done, people will start dying due to severe water shortage, including young children, old people and women. Water is now the last lifeline. I appeal that this blockade of humanitarian aid be ended now.
UNRWA also says that even the UN shelters in Gaza are no longer safe, and this shameful act has no precedent in the past. UNRWA said in a statement that even wars have rules. Civilians, hospitals, schools, clinics and UN sites cannot be targeted. UNRWA is leaving no stone unturned to meet its obligations under international law to protect civilians taking refuge in its shelters and is talking to the parties to the conflict. There should be no violation of international norms in this war. Protection of UN buildings, civilians and civilian infrastructure also applies to this war.
(function(d, s, id){
var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];
if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;}
js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;
js.src = “//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3&appId=770767426360150”;
fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);
}(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’));
(function(d, s, id) {
var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];
if (d.getElementById(id)) return;
js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;
js.src = “//connect.facebook.net/en_GB/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.7”;
fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);
}(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’));