Al -Jazeera Net Correspondents
Gaza- The Israeli occupation army deliberately destroyed water sources and networks in the Gaza Strip, after targeting it with its air strikes and land operations as part of its war to undermine the elements of life and force the Palestinians to desert their places of residence.
The Director General of Water Sources in the Water Authority in the Gaza Strip, Munther Salem, says that Israel destroyed 85% of the water sources, and that the water sector has been exhausted mainly, and drinking water is no longer dedicated to daily consumption available to more than two million Palestinians living inside Gaza.
In an exclusive interview with Al -Jazeera Net, he warned of the effects of water pollution on the health of citizens who are forced to travel long distances to obtain a few of them, and in many cases their mission fails to provide them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttu-x9xmhrq
The most important source
The Gaza Strip depends – according to Salem – on three water sources; The first of which was the underground tank, which was exhausted before the war and became exhausted, as the last analysis that preceded the Israeli aggression in 2023 showed that 97% of its water is not suitable for drinking, while the second source represents desalination plants, whether public or private, which increased dependent on it during the war.
The third source provides the Israeli “micrott” water company, based on the Oslo agreement, as it started providing the Gaza Strip with 5 million cubic meters of water annually through 3 axes located east of Gaza City, east of Al -Maghazi in the central Gaza Strip, and east of Abasan south, and the quantity rose in 2023 to 21 million cubic meters annually.
Salem reviewed the difficult details of the reality of the underground reservoir in the Gaza Strip, which depends on rain water to compensate, but the large number of consumption and its randomness exhausted it and became contaminated.
He added, “The greatest dependence on the underground reservoir is the equivalent of 85% of the total water sources, and this percentage increased during the war after Israel cut off the water supplies that the sector supplies, as soon as the aggression returned to it last March.”
Thirsty
The occupation destroyed more than 80% of public water wells, which were providing water for most residential areas, which confirms the existence of an Israeli plan to thirst the residents of the Gaza Strip, according to the official Salem.
He pointed out that most of the wells that are restarted after the implementation of emergency maintenance work on them, do not work with the required efficiency due to the grave damage to the water system, which led to a decrease in the production of these sources between 30-35% of what it was before the aggression.
The governorates of the Gaza Strip depended on the extraction of groundwater on 300 wells that produced 262 thousand cubic meters per day, but damage to their reduction to the lowest level.
The continuous displacement imposed by the Israeli army on the residents of all governorates of the Gaza Strip led to their gathering in limited places, and working to dig new home wells or repair some of the underdeveloped sources that were destroyed so that they can provide water.
Salem referred to the obstacles that collide with attempts to operate the remaining wells in the Gaza Strip, including the absence of the energy sources necessary for its work due to the prevention of the occupation to enter fuel, and the high cost of operating it through the solar energy, most of which destroyed the aggression.
He explained that the storage capacity of the displaced is limited to the gallons of limited capacity water due to the displacement and destruction that affected large water tanks, and therefore, when the water is cut off from them for only one day, they will leave without water, which increases the daily crises that most of the residents of the sector live.
Pollution and its dangers
The residents of the Gaza Strip increased the desalination plants that covered only 10% of their total need, as they were forced to increase the quantities of their production despite their significant cost.
Salem said: The desalination plants strive through charitable institutions and community initiatives to deliver the largest possible water to the governorates of the Gaza Strip, and this helps to provide a daily share of water even if it is few.
It touches the risks of pollution of drinking water, as hundreds of citizens are accumulated around the trucks of their distribution, which sometimes causes sand and dust to reach the gallons designated for transporting water.
The official, Salem, indicated that every 1 gram of sand contains 5 microbes, which increases the risk of intestinal diseases, and warned that the accumulation of solid waste in Gaza leads directly to the leakage of pollution of the water.
Salem stressed that water sources need a comprehensive rehabilitation, including water desalination plants, pumping stations, wells, water tanks, main transportation lines, and water networks, so that the competent authorities can meet the citizens’ natural needs of water.
