Gaza - (Saba):
More than 1.7 million water-related illnesses have been recorded in the Gaza Strip, due to the Israeli enemy's use of water as a tool of genocide and a weapon of slow murder against more than 2.4 million people in the Strip.
The Government Media Office in Gaza explained in a statement issued on Saturday that these diseases include diarrhea, the acute inflammatory bowel disease known as dysentery, and viral hepatitis, in addition to the deaths of more than 50 citizens, the majority of whom are children, due to dehydration and malnutrition.
It indicated that in a new crime added to the series of organized crimes committed by the enemy in the Gaza Strip, it continues to deliberately deprive the population of the minimum amount of water necessary for survival by systematically targeting water infrastructure, halting supply lines, destroying water stations and wells, and cutting off electricity and fuel needed to operate water and sanitation facilities.
The office stated that the Israeli enemy deliberately disrupted the two Mekorot water pipelines east of Gaza City and in the central governorate, which provide more than 35,000 cubic meters of water daily to more than 700,000 citizens. It also shut down the electricity line supplying the desalination plant in the Deir al-Balah area, leading to a complete halt in desalinated water production.
It noted that the Israeli enemy is exposing the lives of approximately 800,000 citizens in the central governorates and Khan Yunis to the risk of severe thirst.
According to the office, enemy forces have destroyed more than 90% of the water and sanitation infrastructure, prevented technical crews from reaching the area to repair damaged buildings, and targeted workers while carrying out their humanitarian missions.
The office issued an urgent appeal to the international community and United Nations agencies to take immediate and effective action to stop the crime of dehydration and to enforce the entry of fuel, equipment, and repair teams to water facilities.
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