Gaza municipality warns of environmental disaster as Israeli occupation deliberately destructs water, sewage networks

The Gaza Municipality revealed that, since the beginning of the Israeli genocide on the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, 2023, the Israeli occupation has deliberately destroyed and targeted the infrastructure in a clear and direct manner, which has led to the cessation of the work of a wide sector of water and sewage services, lighting networks, rainwater collection ponds, and facilities for energy and electricity generation for the municipality.Spokesperson for the Gaza Municipality Hosni Muhanna told Qatar News Agency (QNA) in an exclusive statement that, the Israeli occupation deliberately destroyed roads, parks, public gardens, squares, water wells and transmission lines with the aim of inflicting thirst on Palestinians and depriving them of water.The number of wells destroyed by the occupation inside Gaza City reached 42 wells that provided services to residents and displaced persons, 26 of which were completely destroyed and 16 others partially destroyed, and cannot be maintained currently due to the lack of necessary equipment in light of the deliberate Israeli targeting of the Central Maintenance Department of the Gaza Municipality, Muhanna added.Spokesperson for Gaza Municipality explained that the Israeli occupation destroyed 520 valves through which the municipality crews control the process of distributing water to the municipality's areas of influence, pointing out that the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) put the water desalination plant in northern Gaza out of service, thus disrupting all sources of water supply to the city.Muhanna underlined that the water crisis has forced Palestinians to travel long distances and wait in queues to obtain such basic need as limited number of liters of water, adding that the municipality crews are working effortlessly to alleviate the water crisis, but the long duration of the genocide prevents this, especially since the IOF targeted the municipality crews more than once, slaughtering several of them.He described the sewage crisis as complicated due to the occupation's deliberate destruction of the infrastructure, halting the process of transporting it to the treatment plants, as two main pumps were completely destroyed and six others were partially destroyed, which caused the spread of polluted water in the city streets, as it has become a danger to the lives of the residents through spreading diseases.Spokesperson for Gaza Municipality warned that the continuation of this situation constitutes a time bomb for a serious health and environmental disaster, adding that this is reflected in the increasing number of Palestinians infected with infectious diseases and epidemics.Government Media Office in Gaza stated in a report that the occupation destroyed more than 25,000 kilometers of water and sewage networks in general across the governorates of the Gaza Strip, in accordance with a well-thought-destructive Israeli plan.The Israeli occupation has also deliberately destroyed 700 water wells in the Gaza Strip and put them completely out of service, turning this into a very difficult and major issue.Gaza Media Office emphasized the existence of a profound suffering in getting access to potable or drinking water, as well as water designated for domestic use, pointing out that this intentional man-made disaster increases the risk of living, humanitarian and health conditions in the Gaza Strip. (QNA)