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SvennoJ 20 hours ago
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90% of Gaza population without reliable access to water: Media office

The Government Media Office in Gaza provided an update on the humanitarian situation during Israel’s blockade of aid.

Below is a summary:

  • Food shortages have worsened with 80 percent of citizens losing access to food sources because of the closing of land crossings.
  • Bread shortages have intensified as 25 percent of Gaza’s bakeries have ceased operations, and others are on the verge of closing because of fuel depletion.
  • Severe water scarcity has created a crisis as a lack of fuel shut down wells and desalination plants, leaving 90 percent of Gaza’s population without reliable access to water.
  • Waste management and road clearance programmes have largely stopped as municipalities prioritise fuel for operating water facilities. This has exacerbated public suffering and created a severe health and environmental crisis, particularly amid rising temperatures.
  • Lack of medicine and medical supplies has added to the suffering of 150,000 patients with chronic disease and the war-wounded.
  • Transportation and communication systems have nearly collapsed.


‘Fear, alarm’ as aid supplies run out on day 13 of Israeli blockade

It’s been 13 days since Israel imposed a total blockade on Gaza and the situation continues to deteriorate for the 2.3 million population.

“We are feeling it on multiple levels,” Olga Cherevko from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) told Al Jazeera. “The hope that began when the ceasefire started is being replaced with fear, alarm and concern that supplies are running out.”

She said food security “could deteriorate quite rapidly unless the supplies are restored”. Six of the 25 World Food Programme bakeries have been forced to close because there is no fuel to run them.

Israel cut electricity to a crucial water desalination plant, threatening Gaza’s potable water supply.

“The water and sanitation situation was already dire with most of the facilities destroyed during the months of fighting. This latest [Israeli] decision reduces access to drinking water to about 600,000 people,” Cherevko said.


Call for countries to ‘break the siege on Gaza’

It’s been 13 days since Israel imposed a total blockade on Gaza and the situation continues to deteriorate for the 2.3 million population.

“The consequences of this crime on the humanitarian situation are clear with the indicators of famine and food insecurity unmistakable,” Gaza’s media office said. “Israel and its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are responsible for the deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Gaza.”

It called on the international community to “take action to break the siege on Gaza, allow the entry of humanitarian aid, and hold Israeli war criminals accountable”.

The closure of crossings has also “exacerbated the suffering of 150,000 chronic patients and injured individuals who can no longer access essential medications or medical supplies”.