Palestinian brings child to medical care after bombing in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip | Photo: YASSER QUDIH/AFP
The WHO (World Health Organization) said on Monday (16) that the Gaza Strip will suffer a “catastrophe” within 24 hours if it does not receive immediate humanitarian assistance.
The area is off limits due to the lack of an agreement between Israel and Egypt. WHO regional chief Ahmed Al Mandhari said Gaza still had “24 hours of water, electricity and fuel” and called what lay ahead a “true catastrophe.”
The Gaza Strip has been bombarded continuously by Israel since the extremist group Hamas attacked Israeli territory on October 7. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, at least 2,700 people have died in Gaza since then.
Two days after the Hamas attack, Israel ordered a “total siege” of the Gaza Strip. This measure resulted in the supply of water, energy, fuel and food being disrupted in the area.
Gaza says it has not received water for ten days
The Palestinian Interior Ministry said on Monday that the Gaza Strip had not received a liter of drinking water for ten days. This Sunday (15), the Israeli government announced that it had resumed water supplies to part of the territory.
The decision to resume deliveries was approved by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden, released by Israeli Energy Minister Israel Katz.
“This action will result in the displacement of civilians to the south of the Gaza Strip and will allow for an intensification of the general siege, making it easier for the Israel Defense Forces to operate and destroy Hamas infrastructure,” Katz wrote on social media.
The UN warned this Sunday that 2 million people in the region are without drinking water. “People are now forced to use dirty water from wells, increasing the risk of waterborne diseases. There has also been a blackout in Gaza since October 11, affecting supplies,” it said in a statement.
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