Israeli attack hits water desalination plant, killing 5 people
At least five people have been killed and several wounded when Israeli fighter jets hit a water desalination plant in the Remal neighbourhood of Gaza City.
According to medical sources quoted by the Wafa news agency, bodies and the wounded were transported to nearby hospitals under intense Israeli shelling.
Condemnation in Gaza as prominent doctor ‘kidnapped’, journalist killed
We reported earlier that Dr Marwan al-Hams, who led a hospital in southern Rafah and was manager of field hospitals in Gaza, was arrested by Israeli forces.
Palestinian media now report he was “kidnapped” by a special forces unit in broad daylight, and journalist Tamer al-Zaanin was shot dead by soldiers during the attack, which came as he visited a Red Cross field hospital.
The Government Media Office said Israeli soldiers fired at the ambulance carrying the doctor and three others, also wounding the other two – the ambulance driver and a photojournalist. It called the attack a war crime.
In a statement, Hamas said the move “represents a deliberate continuation of the criminal targeting of the medical sector and its staff through killing, arrest and terror”. It called on the Red Cross and international community to condemn it.
وحدة مسلحة خاصة تابعة لجيش الاحتلال تعتقل مدير مستشفى أبو يوسف النجار والمكلف بإدارة ملف المستشفيات الميدانية، د. مروان الهمص، في قطاع غزة ظهر اليوم. pic.twitter.com/rkvE5U1DF2
— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) July 21, 2025
Translation: A special armed unit of the occupation army arrested the director of Abu Youssef al-Najjar Hospital and the official in charge of managing field hospitals, Dr Marwan al-Hams, in the Gaza Strip this afternoon.
Fuel shortages threaten water access in Gaza: UNRWA
Only two trucks of fuel are entering Gaza each day, putting critical water and sanitation services at risk, according to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).
In a post on X, UNRWA warned that “fuel levels remain very low” and that without enough supply, “water cannot be delivered by UNRWA to people in Gaza”.
As the summer heat intensifies, access to clean water has become even more scarce. “Water wells are hard to reach due to non-stop bombardments and forced displacement orders,” the agency said.
UNRWA added that vital infrastructure is on the verge of collapse, and called for urgent international action: “Lift the siege.” The warning comes as humanitarian agencies say Gaza is facing total service shutdowns without immediate fuel access.
Gaza faces ‘extreme thirst’ as main desalination plant shuts down
The Gaza Municipality has warned that the city has entered a phase of “extreme thirst” after its main desalination plant in northern Gaza City shut down completely.
In a statement, it said the worsening fuel crisis has further deepened the water shortage. Large areas are no longer receiving water, and most wells are out of service.
The municipality warned that some 1.2 million displaced people and residents now face the threat of severe thirst as water sources collapse and urgent humanitarian intervention remains absent.
