Gaza – SABA
The spokesperson for Gaza City Municipality, Husni Muhanna, warned on Saturday that the city is facing a state of “mass dehydration” threatening the lives of over 1.2 million Palestinians, including residents and displaced persons.
Speaking to the Palestinian Shehab news agency, Muhanna said that the water supply deficit now exceeds 80% of actual need due to the widespread shutdown of water wells, most of which have stopped operating as a result of Israeli airstrikes that destroyed water infrastructure and blocked technical crews from accessing and repairing the damage.
Currently, the municipality is able to operate only 19 out of 96 water wells, he added. This is amid a severe electricity crisis and a sharp shortage of fuel needed to run vital facilities—leaving hundreds of thousands of people without access to safe drinking water or water for daily use.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza has repeatedly warned of the outbreak of waterborne diseases, especially in displacement centers where people are forced to use contaminated water sources.
The ministry continues to call on the international community to urgently intervene and halt the Israeli-imposed policies of starvation and dehydration against civilians. It emphasized the need to allow the entry of essential equipment and machinery so municipal teams can carry out emergency repairs to water facilities to ensure the bare minimum level of service.
Backed by U.S. and European support, the Israeli army has continued its assault on Gaza since October 7, 2023, committing what Palestinian authorities describe as acts of genocide. As of today, the attacks have killed 58,765 Palestinian civilians, the majority of them women and children, and injured 140,485 others, according to non-final estimates. Thousands remain trapped under rubble or in the streets, where emergency and rescue crews are unable to reach them.
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