RAMALLAH (Palestine Foundation Information Center) Israeli occupation forces (IOF) have destroyed more than 85% of the water and sanitation facilities and assets in Gaza, with a restoration cost exceeding 1.5 billion dollars, while the only water source supplying the Strip suffers from salinity and pollution by more than 97%.
According to data from the Central Bureau of Statistics and the Water Authority, the per capita share of water in Gaza does not exceed half of the amount estimated for the minimum humanitarian amount required in emergency situations, which is 15 liters per individual per day.
In a statement marking World Water Day, the two organizations explained that more than 85% of water and sanitation facilities and assets in Gaza are either completely or partially out of service, including sewage treatment and desalination plants, pumping stations, wells, water reservoirs, main transmission lines, water, sewage and stormwater drainage networks, and water monitoring laboratories.
The statement pointed out that the restoration of water and sanitation services in the areas where the damage was inventoried is estimated at more than 1.5 billion dollars, indicating that the genocidal war torpedoed investments of more than one billion dollars spent over many years to avoid the disaster that was threatening Gaza due to the salinity and contamination of 97% of the water in the underground reservoir; the only source of water there.
The statement added that the extensive damage suffered by the water and sanitation sector has led to a decline in water supply rates to an average of 3-5 liters per person per day, while these figures vary greatly depending on geographical location, water supply, destruction of infrastructure, and ongoing displacement.
This ratio is less than the minimum required for survival in emergency situations according to the World Health Organization (WHO) indicators, which are estimated at 15 liters per person per day, The statement elaborated.
It attributed this to the damage to the infrastructure, the complete lack of electricity needed to pump water from wells and operate water facilities such as reservoirs and pumping stations, and the restrictions on providing the fuel and materials needed to operate them, noting that the available water resources in the Gaza Strip are suffering huge losses and the amount of water has decreased to an average of 35% compared to what it was before the Israeli aggression.
