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Water in Gaza [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2023-10-20  

The following material is drawn from an article posted on Informed Comment on October 19 by University of Michigan Professor Juan Cole.

After the Hamas attacks of October 7, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu announced that water, electricity, and the provision of goods would be cut off in Gaza.

Gaza’s water plant and public water networks were deactivated by the Israelis. Professor Cole says this is “a war crime of immense proportions,” and he quotes the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC):

Starvation as a method of warfare is explicitly prohibited regardless of the nature of the conflict, and the concept of objects essential for the survival of the civilian population includes drinking-water installations and supplies and irrigation works.

Israel cut off pipelines bringing in potable water. As a result, according to UNRWA (the United Nations Reliefs Works Agency) on Oct. 16:

Three water desalination plants, previously producing 21 million liters of drinking water per day, have halted operations. People across Gaza have severely limited access to clean drinking water. As a last resort, people are consuming brackish water from agricultural wells, triggering serious concerns over the spread of waterborne diseases. For the fifth consecutive day, Gaza has had no electricity, pushing vital services, including health, water and sanitation to the brink of collapse.

UNRWA updated its report on Wednesday, Oct. 18, writing:

The water crisis continues due to the inability to bring in much needed fuel, which is needed to operate water pumps and desalination plants. It is further compounded by the very limited supply of water on the market. Many UNRWA shelters have no water supplies. Health-related risks due to the lack of water and poor sanitation are growing, including water-borne and other diseases.

OCHA (the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) noted on Wednesday, Oct. 18:

The average water consumption for all needs (drinking, cooking and hygiene) is currently estimated at three liters per day per person in Gaza. Currently, people in Gaza only receive less than one gallon. People consume more and more water from unsafe sources, risking death and placing the population at risk of infectious disease outbreak.

Although the Israeli government says it has turned on the water for south Gaza, the Gaza Ministry of Public Health says no water is being received. Electricity remains off, and Palestinians have pointed out on social media that without electricity the water cannot be pumped. Moreover, many of the water pipelines were broken by Israeli aerial bombardment.

Israel admits it continues to block water to north Gaza.

The flow of drinking water is essential because Gaza’s own aquifer has been polluted with sewage and industrial waste and has seen an influx of sea water, i.e. salt water, partially because of rising seas caused by climate change. Drinking sea water causes frequent urination and leads to dehydration and death in a matter of days.

Only 4% of water inside Gaza is drinkable. Without electricity or fuel, people cannot boil the water to kill bacteria. Even that wouldn’t solve the salt water problem.

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Water: www.theguardian.com/… Oct. 17: The World Health Organization (WHO) states that people need 50 liters (13 gallons) of water daily for survival. People in Gaza have less than 1 gallon.

Electricity: www.usatoday.com/… Oct. 19: The Gaza power plant and power cables from Israel, which were Gaza's two primary suppliers of electricity, are no longer operational. At the beginning of the siege, Israel cut off its supply of electricity to the city, and the power plant ceased operations almost a week ago because of a shortage of fuel.

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