By SAM METZ and WAFAA SHURAFA, Associated Press
Gaza Strip’s DEIR AL-BALAH (AP) Rana Odeh returns to her tent with her jug of murky water after rising early to wait in line for an hour in the August heat. Wiping the perspiration from her forehead, she plans how much to divide between her two young children. She is well aware that it is probably tainted only based on its hue.
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Fear of sickness is subordinated to thirst.
She pours a taste into a teacup for herself and fills tiny bottles for her daughter and son. She puts what’s left in a jerrycan for later.
Odeh, who was evicted from her Khan Younis house, said of the water, “We have no choice but to give it to our children.” It makes our children and ourselves sick.
In Muwasi, a large displacement camp in central Gaza where hundreds of thousands of people live in the sweltering summer heat, such spectacles have become the sad norm. Parents and kids, bathed in dust and sweat, chase after water trucks that arrive every two or three days to fill buckets, canisters, and bottles before bringing them home, occasionally on carts pulled by donkeys.
For drinking, cooking, cleaning, or washing, each drop is rationed. Some people recycle what they can and put a few extra inches in their jerry cans for whatever comes up tomorrow.
According to Odeh, she and her kid fill bottles from the sea when water doesn’t arrive.
Water supply in Gaza has become increasingly difficult in the 22 months since Israel began its offensive.Desalination plant operations have been hindered by restrictions on electricity and fuel imports, while pipeline damage and infrastructural delays have caused supply to a dribble. Sewage and the debris from blasted buildings contaminated Gaza’s aquifers. According to the local utilities and assistance organizations, most wells are ruined or unreachable.
In the meantime, in addition to Gaza’s growing famine, the water problem has contributed to the widespread spread of illness. UNRWA, the U.N. organization for Palestinian refugees, reported on Thursday that 10,300 individuals on average each week now visit its health centers with infectious diseases, primarily diarrhea caused by tainted water.
Although there are steps being taken to alleviate the water scarcity, many people are still more concerned about the potential consequences before a fresh supply arrives.
And as a heat wave continues, the thirst only gets worse, with temperatures in Gaza reaching 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) on Friday and high humidity.
A father from Gaza City who was relocated to Muwasi, Mahmoud al-Dibs, poured water over his head from a thin plastic bag, one of the containers used to transport water across the camps.
We are compelled to drink this water wherever we go because it is hot both inside and outside the tents, he said.
Al-Dibs was one of many people who admitted to drinking non-potable water, according to The Associated Press.
According to Bushra Khalidi, an official with Oxfam, a relief organization operating in Gaza, the few people who still own rooftop tanks are unable to gather enough water to clean them, so the water that comes out of their taps is dangerous and yellow.
The more than 2 million inhabitants of the coastal enclave relied on a variety of sources for their water supply prior to the conflict. The national water service of Israel, Mekorot, piped in some. A few originated from desalination facilities. Some were imported in bottles, while others were extracted from highly salinized wells.
All the sources are in danger.
Groundwater, which currently provides more than half of Gaza’s supply, is becoming increasingly important to Palestinians. According to Palestinian water officials and relief organizations, the well water has historically been brackish but is nonetheless suitable for farming, bathing, and cleaning.
People must now drink it.
According to Mark Zeitoun, director general of the Geneva Water Hub, a policy institute, the consequences of drinking contaminated water don’t often show up immediately away.
When untreated sewage combines with drinking water and is consumed or used to wash food, it can contain microorganisms that can cause dysentery, according to Zeitoun. You will end up on dialysis for decades if you are compelled to drink brackish, salty water because it damages your kidneys.
Humanitarian organizations believe that a minimum of 15 liters (3.3 gallons) are required for drinking, cooking, and basic hygiene, although deliveries typically provide less than three liters (12.5 cups) per person every day. Less than 20% of Gaza’s reported illnesses in February were acute watery diarrhea. UNICEF, the United Nations organization for children, reports that by July, it had increased to 44%, increasing the risk of severe dehydration.
Residents claimed that supply from Israel’s water utility, Mekorot, were reduced early in the conflict; Israel has refuted these claims. Airstrikes destroyed one of Gaza’s three desalination plants and some of the transmission pipelines.
UNICEF reports that only 137 of Gaza’s 392 wells are currently accessible due to well damage or closure caused by bombing and advancing soldiers. Some wells’ water quality has declined due to contamination from sewage, broken building debris, and spent weapons residue.
Lack of fuel has put stress on the system, slowing down water-carrying vehicles and well pumps. According to government and humanitarian organizations, the remaining two desalination facilities have occasionally shut down or operated much below capacity.
Israel has made some action to undo the harm in recent weeks. Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel told The Associated Press that it linked one of the desalination facilities to Israel’s electrical grid and supplied water into Gaza through two of Mekorot’s three pipes.
Monther Shoblaq, the head of Gaza’s Coastal Municipalities Water Utility, told AP that the facilities’ output was still significantly lower than it was prior to the war. He has been compelled to make difficult decisions as a result.
Getting water to consumers and hospitals is a top priority for the utility. However, this occasionally entails denying water required for sewage treatment, which can lead to backlog in the area and increase health hazards.
Similar to restrictions on food entering Gaza, water has not caused the same level of international anger. However, Shoblaq cautioned that there was a clear correlation between the situation and possible fatalities.
He stated, “It’s clear that you can live for a few days without food, but not without water.”
Following Israel’s actions, access to water is stabilizing. Aid workers are confident that things will not worsen and may perhaps get better.
Just across the border in Egypt, a desalination facility funded by the United Arab Emirates could provide additional respite to southern Gaza. Deliveries could begin in a few weeks, according to COGAT, the Israeli military agency in charge of humanitarian supplies to Gaza, which says it has permitted equipment to enter the enclave in order to construct a pipeline from the facility.
Although the plant wouldn’t be dependent on Israel for electricity, Israel will continue to regulate water entrance into Gaza for the foreseeable future because it owns the borders.
However, relief organizations caution that Israel’s intentions to launch a fresh onslaught on some of the last places beyond its military control might again hamper access to water and other aid. These regions include Gaza City and Muwasi, which are now home to a large portion of Gaza’s inhabitants.
People wait in line for the occasional water truck to arrive at Muwasi’s tent encampment.
The water he drinks is already considered a last resort by Hosni Shaheen, whose family was also uprooted from Khan Younis.
He said that it consistently produces stomach discomfort in both adults and children. When your kids consume it, you don’t feel secure.
From Jerusalem, Metz reported. From Kerem Shalom, Israel, Alon Berstein provided reporting.
Visit https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war to follow AP’s coverage of the conflict.
