UNICEF says deal agreed with Israel to boost Gaza water supply
The United Nations children’s fund says Israel had agreed to restore power to a key desalination plant in southern Gaza.
“UNICEF confirms an agreement (with Israel) was reached to re-establish the medium voltage feeder power line for the Southern Gaza Desalination Plant,” said Jonathan Crickx, the agency’s spokesman in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Water has become scarce for the Palestinian territory’s 2.4 million residents since war broke out nearly nine months ago.
More than two thirds of Gaza’s sanitation and water facilities have been destroyed or damaged, according to data cited by UN agencies, and only an intermittent supply of bottled water has been allowed in since Israel imposed a punishing siege on the territory.
The plant in Khan Younis, once resupplied with electricity, should produce enough water to “meet what humanitarian standards define as a minimum intake of 15 litres (3.96 gallons) per day of drinking water per person, for nearly a million displaced people” in southern Gaza, Crickx said.
“This is an important milestone, and we are very much looking forward to seeing it implemented.”
Lack of gas deliveries puts 18 ambulances out of operation
The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) says 18 ambulances, or 36 percent of its fleet, have stopped operating in Gaza because of a lack of fuel.
In a statement posted on X, the organisation said it hasn’t received its daily share of petrol from the UN for more than a week. “This share previously covered only 6 percent of the operational capacity of the ambulances, as the Israeli occupation has prevented fuel from entering the Gaza Strip,” it said.
“As a result, the PRCS warns of a decline in its ability to provide ambulance and emergency services in the coming days due to the fuel shortage, with the Israeli occupation continuing to keep the Rafah border crossing closed for about 52 days.”
🚨The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) expresses its concern over the halting of 18 ambulances in the #Gaza Strip due to fuel shortages, which represents 36% of the PRCS’s ambulance fleet capacity. The PRCS has not received its daily share of gasoline from the United Nations… pic.twitter.com/C9MRhdcWxl
— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) June 27, 2024
US lawmaker calls for Gaza pier shutdown
A US Republican lawmaker has written to the Biden administration demanding the closure of the Gaza aid pier, calling the operation ineffective, risky and a waste of money.
“I urge the Administration to immediately cease this failed operation before further catastrophe occurs and consider alternative means of land and air-based humanitarian aid delivery,” House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers wrote in a letter seen by Reuters.
First announced by Biden in March, the offshore floating pier was created to respond to the threat of famine in the Gaza Strip. The Pentagon estimates the first 90 days of operation will cost about $230m.
However, rough seas have damaged the pier, forcing repairs, and poor weather has limited the number of days the pier has been operational. “As of June 19, JLOTS [Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore] had only been operational about 10 days and had only moved 3,415 metric tons onto the beach in Gaza,” Rogers wrote.
