Israel cuts off power to 2 desalination plants in Gaza
Israel has cut off power to two desalination plants in the Deir Al-Balah area of central Gaza, depriving thousands of Palestinians of water, the local municipality has said.
In a statement, the Deir Al-Balah Municipality announced that the South Sea Desalination Plant and the Basra Desalination Plant ceased operations after Israeli occupation forces cut off the electricity supply.
It added that the plants produce about 20,000 cubic meters of desalinated water daily which supply about 70 per cent of the area’s residents with water.
For his part, Director General of Planning, Water and Sanitation in the Gaza Municipality, Maher Ashour Salem, warned that “the amount of water currently available in the Strip is less than 25 per cent of the normal quantities,” explaining that more than 70 per cent of water had been lost due to Israel’s destruction of the water supply lines.
He warned of a looming humanitarian disaster if the Israeli water company cuts off the water supply which makes up 80 per cent of the currently available water.
“The loss of this vital water source will severely affect domestic use, hospitals and shelters, amid almost non-existent alternative water sources as a result of the destruction of more than three-quarters of the water wells in the Gaza Strip,” Salem said.
The Israeli occupation’s decision came a day after Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, stopped the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, hours after the first phase of the ceasefire with Hamas had ended.
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