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Head of the Gaza Water Authority, Eng. Saadi Ali revealed the extent of the losses and massive destruction of the water sector and irrigation networks in the strip, which the occupation deliberately destroyed and cut off services to citizens during the aggression on Gaza.Speaking to Qatar News Agency (QNA), Ali said that the extent of the damage and losses in the water sector exceeds 85 percent, explaining that the occupation forces targeted critical water infrastructure, including sources, distribution networks, wastewater treatment facilities, sewage lines, and desalination plants, severely disrupting access to clean water for the population.He estimated the value of destroyed international water projects in Gaza at around $3 billion, encompassing infrastructure, equipment, solar energy systems, desalination pumps, and other vital assets. He also reported the destruction of 725 central water wells and 134 freshwater projects, while over 700,000 meters of water pipelines were damaged due to bombardment and ground incursions.The Head of the Water Authority warned that the Gaza Strip is facing a major crisis, affecting the entire water sector and all its components and facilities, directly negatively impacting citizens.He explained that, in light of the fuel shortage, the Water Authority, municipalities, and relevant authorities have been unable to provide services to citizens except partially and limitedly, with the remaining facilities that were not destroyed. They rely on aging energy generators that are worn out and in need of maintenance and spare parts. He pointed out that during the two years of the aggression on Gaza, no spare parts or oil have been imported for the generators, which are at risk of shutting down at any time and are only operated for six hours per day.Despite a ceasefire agreement, he stressed that no materials, equipment, or machinery have been allowed into Gaza to support the water and sanitation sectors, further deepening the crisis. Clean water remains largely unavailable across neighborhoods and displacement camps, home to thousands of displaced people.To address the crisis, the Water Authority has developed recovery plans in coordination with local and international partners. However, implementation remains stalled due to the continued closure of border crossings and restrictions on importing necessary supplies.Ali emphasized that restoring basic water services, ensuring at least 50 liters per person per day, requires urgent rehabilitation of destroyed wells, desalination facilities, and sewage treatment plants.He also warned that water and sewage systems in the neighborhoods and streets of the Gaza Strip are intertwined due to Israeli destruction and bulldozing, raising the threat of disease outbreaks, particularly among children.With winter approaching, he highlighted the risk of flooding in Gaza City, especially due to the destruction of the Sheikh Radwan water basin. Eight sewage pumps in Gaza have stopped functioning completely or partially, further compounding the risk of sewage leakage into groundwater and drinking supplies.Ali concluded by calling for the immediate reopening of border crossings to allow the entry of spare parts, pipes, and pumps essential for repairs and reconstruction, stressing that this is a cornerstone for restoring water services and preventing a full-scale environmental and health catastrophe.

Qatar Charity has announced allocation of an additional $16mn to expand humanitarian interventions in the Gaza Strip.This came in the speech delivered by Qatar Charity’s CEO Yousef bin Ahmed al-Kuwari on the margins of the high-level event Qatar held in Cairo, highlighting joint Qatari-Egyptian efforts to support the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, as part of the ongoing humanitarian partnerships between the two countries. Al-Kuwari emphasised that this support is intended to expand emergency assistance operations across Gaza, covering essential sectors such as food, water, healthcare, and shelter for civilians affected by the ongoing conflict. He added that this additional allocation raises Qatar Charity’s total contribution to Gaza to USD142mn, stressing Qatar Charity’s steadfast commitment to supporting the Palestinian people in Gaza and enhancing urgent humanitarian responses to meet the basic needs of affected families.Qatar Charity reaffirmed its commitment to close co-operation with the relevant authorities in Egypt, UN agencies, and partner organisations to expedite logistics, monitor distribution, and ensure effective delivery of aid, al-Kuwari pointed out.Al-Kuwari stated: “Our continued dedication to delivering lifesaving assistance has enabled us, over the past week, to transport more than 16,694 tents to Gaza via the land bridge between Doha and Al Arish.

WFP says just two aid crossings are open and none to northIsrael says aid is entering in accordance with ceasefire planGazans store supplies for fear they will halt againThe UN World Food Programme said on Tuesday that supplies into Gaza were ramping up after the US-brokered ceasefire but were still far short of its daily target of 2,000 tons because only two crossings are open, and none to the famine-hit north of the enclave.Around 750 metric tons of food are now entering the Gaza Strip daily, according to the WFP, but this was still well below the scale of needs after two years of conflict between Israel and Hamas that has reduced much of Gaza to ruins."To be able to get to this scale-up, we have to use every border crossing point right now," WFP spokesperson Abeer Etefa told a Geneva press briefing.She said only two of the Israeli-controlled crossings into Gaza were operational - Kerem Shalom in the south and Kissufim in the centre.The ceasefire plan brokered by US President Donald Trump envisages "full aid" being sent into Gaza. An Israeli security official said that humanitarian aid continues to enter through the Kerem Shalom crossing and additional crossings in accordance with the plan, without naming them.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt will remain closed until further notice, with its reopening dependent on Hamas handing over bodies of deceased hostages.The UN children's agency spokesperson Ricardo Pires said on Tuesday the humanitarian response was still far below the required scale and called for all entry points to reopen.Some nutrition supplies for children and pregnant women have reached the north via the south, Etefa said, but far short of the level required. "We haven't had large-scale convoys into Gaza City or to the north of Gaza," she said, adding that WFP had not been granted permission to use the main north-south Salah al-Din road.Food supplies delivered so far are enough to feed around half a million people for two weeks, she said.Many Gazans were storing the food they are receiving because they are afraid that supplies might again dry up."They eat part of it, and they ration and keep some of the supplies for an emergency, because they are not very confident how long the ceasefire will last and what will happen next," she said.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani stressed the importance of working to ensure that the truce in Gaza turns into a real peace. In a statement on the sidelines of the Mediterranean and Southern European Union (MED9) summit in Slovenia, Tajani said that there is a lot of work to be done and Italy is on the front lines, ready to reinforce the Carabinieri presence at the Rafah crossing. Tajani confirmed that the matter was discussed with Defense Minister Guido Crosetto and added that Italy is working with Jordan and Egypt regarding Gaza. He also confirmed Italy will participate in the reconstruction conference, in addition to sending a delegation to Amman to participate in training, including in the field of healthcare.

The Israeli occupation forces have committed 80 documented violations since the announcement of the ceasefire in Gaza, resulting in the slaying of 97 Palestinians and injuries to over 230 others, with varying degrees of severity, including 21 violations recorded on Sunday, the Government Media Office in Gaza reported in a statement Monday.The statement added that these breaches included direct shooting at civilians, deliberate bombing of residential compounds, creation of fire belts, and unleashing field detentions in several areas.These practices confirm the persistent Israeli occupation's belligerent approach and its determination to field escalation in an unequivocal violation of the ceasefire decision and the international humanitarian rules-based order, the statement continued.The statement further pointed out that in their assaults, the occupation forces operated tanks stationed at the perimeter of residential neighborhoods, alongside remotely-operated sensor-equipped cranes with electro-optical targeting capability, in addition to fighter jets and quadcopters that daily hover over populated areas and directly launch firepower at civilians.The Israeli breaches have been recorded in various governorates across the Gaza enclave, emphasising the Israeli occupation's non-compliance with the ceasefire and its persistent pursuit of the policy of killing and terrorising against the population, the statement clarified.The Media Office held the Israeli occupation forces fully responsible for these violations and called on the UN and nations that guaranteed the ceasefire deal to urgently intervene to compel the Israeli occupation to stop its attacks and protect the unarmed civilians in the Gaza Strip.

HE Minister of State for International Cooperation Dr. Maryam bint Ali bin Nasser Al Misnad witnessed Monday the departure of 60 trucks loaded with Qatari aid from 10th of Ramadan City to the Egyptian city of Al Arish, in preparation for their entry into the Gaza Strip via the Rafah Crossing.**media[371430]**This came during Her Excellency’s inspection of the Qatari humanitarian aid warehouse in 10th of Ramadan City, during her current visit to the sisterly Arab Republic of Egypt.The Qatari aid to Gaza includes (25,500) comprehensive food baskets, (1,800) hygiene baskets, (1,000) shelter kits, (400) tons of flour, and (7,400) cartons of baby milk.**media[371433]**Her Excellency also toured the Qatari humanitarian aid warehouse, which contains relief and food supplies.**media[371431]**

The agricultural sector has incurred staggering losses due to the methodical Israeli targeting and deliberate destruction of a massive portion of Gaza's agricultural capabilities, spokesperson for Gaza's Ministry of Agriculture Muhammad Abu Odeh told Qatar News Agency Monday.He stressed that the devastation was ubiquitous, affecting all of Gaza's agricultural sector and spaces, as well as water wells, livestock, fisheries, dairy and poultry farms, and greenhouses.Abu Odeh revealed that $2.8bn represents the total preliminary losses of the agricultural sector in Gaza throughout two years of Israeli aggression and the deliberate and systematic targeting of all components of agriculture in the enclave.He further explained that 94% of agricultural lands in the Strip were destroyed by the occupation out of a total of 178,000 dunums, and that 1,223 agricultural wells were rendered inoperative.Abu Odeh stated that 93,000 dunums of vegetable-cultivated lands have shrunk to only 4,000 dunums, while approximately 85% of agricultural greenhouses, which used to produce vegetables for the residents of the enclave, were destroyed.This led to a decline in vegetable production from about 405,000 tons annually to around 28,000 tons only, insufficient to meet the population's needs in the Gaza Strip amid the war and famine endured by the population, Abu Odeh said.He noted that 100% of the fisheries sector was affected due to the targeting by the Israeli occupation of fishing areas, followed by the destruction of fishermen’s equipment and boats, in addition to the detention or killing of anyone attempting to venture out to sea to practice their profession, amid the prohibition on fishermen from operating in the Gaza Sea throughout the period of onslaught.Over a season has passed during the two-year-long war since the seasonal agricultural crops were planted, which incurred massive losses due to the deceleration of production caused by Israel's methodical and intentional razing and decimation, especially of the varieties known in Gaza.The Gaza Strip is mired in unemployment following two years of the war of extermination that plagued all elements of life, with the unemployment rate in Palestine surging during the offensive in the West Bank and the Gaza enclave to reach 50%, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) said in a report.The report added that the rate stands at 34% in the West Bank and 80% in the Gaza Strip, while the number of unemployed in Palestine has reached approximately 550,000.The ceasefire deal between the Hamas movement and the Israeli occupation took effect last week following the Israeli occupation army's pullback from sites and populated areas in the enclave.This was marked by the return of displaced people to the northern Strip as part of the first phase of US President Donald Trump's plan to end the war on Gaza.

Israel launched dozens of deadly strikes in Gaza Sunday, after accusing the resistance group Hamas of attacking its troops, in the worst violence since the start of a ceasefire nine days ago.Gaza's civil defence agency, which operates under Hamas authority, said at least 33 people had been killed across the territory.Hamas denied the accusations, with one official accusing Israel of fabricating "pretexts" to resume the war.In a separate statement, the Israeli military said two of its soldiers "fell during combat in the southern Gaza Strip".A security official said that Israel was also suspending the entry of aid into Gaza, blaming "Hamas's blatant violations" of the ceasefire.Israel repeatedly cut off aid to the territory during the war, exacerbating dire humanitarian conditions, with the United Nations saying it caused a famine in northern Gaza.The truce in the Palestinian territory, brokered by US President Donald Trump and taking effect on 10 October, brought to a halt more than two years of devastating war between Israel and Hamas.Palestinian witnesses said clashes erupted in the southern city of Rafah in an area still held by Israel.A statement from Izzat al-Rishq, a member of Hamas's political bureau, reaffirmed the group's commitment to the ceasefire and said Israel "continues to breach the agreement and fabricate flimsy pretexts to justify its crimes".Hamas's armed wing insisted on Sunday that the group was adhering to the ceasefire agreement with Israel and had "no knowledge" of any clashes in Rafah.Israel resumes ceasefireThe Israeli military said Sunday it had resumed enforcing a ceasefire in Gaza after carrying out dozens of strikes on Hamas targets earlier in the day. "The IDF has begun the renewed enforcement of the ceasefire," the military said in a statement."The IDF will continue to uphold the ceasefire agreement and will respond firmly to any violation of it."

Gazans report explosions, gunfire, airstrikes and tank shellingRafah border crossing remains closed amid ongoing ceasefire violationsDispute over return of hostages' bodies continues between Israel and HamasThe Israeli military said it launched air strikes and artillery fire at targets in southern Gaza on Sunday, dimming hopes that a US-mediated ceasefire would lead to lasting peace.Israel's attacks on Sunday were the most serious test of an already fragile ceasefire, which took effect on October 11.Hamas' armed wing said in a statement that it remained committed to the ceasefire agreement in all of Gaza, adding that it was unaware of clashes in Rafah and that it has not been in contact with groups there since March."We affirm our full commitment to implementing all agreements, foremost among them the ceasefire across all areas of the Gaza Strip," the Al-Qassam Brigades said. Palestinian witnesses on Sunday separately told Reuters of explosions and gunfire in Rafah, tank fire in the southern town of Abassan near Khan Younis, an airstrike in the central town of Zawayda and explosions in the central town of Deir Al-Balah, which killed at least five people, according to medics at Al-Aqsa Hospital.Witnesses in Khan Younis heard a wave of airstrikes launched into Rafah early on Sunday afternoon.Gaza's health ministry said on Sunday that Israeli attacks had killed at least eight people in the last 24 hours. An Israeli military official said earlier on Sunday that Hamas had carried out multiple attacks against Israeli forces inside Gaza, including a rocket-propelled grenade attack and a sniper attack against Israeli soldiers.Defense Minister Israel Katz said the "yellow line" to where Israeli forces had pulled back under the ceasefire agreement would be physically marked and that any violation of the ceasefire or attempt to cross the line would be met with fire.Senior Hamas official Izzat Al Risheq said on Sunday that the group remained committed to the ceasefire, which he accused Israel of repeatedly violating.The government media office in Gaza said on Saturday that Israel had committed 47 violations after the ceasefire deal, leaving 38 dead and 143 wounded."These violations have ranged from direct shooting at civilians, to deliberate shelling and targeting operations, as well as the arrest of several civilians," the media office statement said.The Israeli government and Hamas have been accusing each other of violations of the ceasefire for days, with Israel saying the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt will remain closed until further notice.Rafah has largely been shut since May 2024. The ceasefire deal also includes the ramping up of aid to Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of people were determined in August to be affected by famine, according to the IPC global hunger monitor.The crossing has in previous ceasefires functioned as a key conduit for humanitarian aid to flow into the enclave.Israel and Hamas have been engaged in a dispute over the return of the bodies of deceased hostages. Israel demanded that Hamas fulfill its obligations in turning over the remaining bodies of all 28 hostages. Hamas has returned all 20 live hostages and 12 of the deceased and has said it has no interest in keeping the bodies of remaining hostages. The group said the process needs effort and special equipment to recover corpses buried under rubble. Formidable obstacles to Trump's plan to end the war still remain. Key questions of Hamas disarming, the future governance of Gaza, the make-up of an international "stabilization force", and moves towards the creation of a Palestinian state have yet to be resolved.The US State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Renewed fighting in Gaza and concerns over the ceasefire pushed key Tel Aviv share indices down nearly 2% on Sunday.

Gaza's civil defence agency said a series of Israeli air strikes on Sunday killed at least 11 people across the territory, as Israel and Hamas traded blame for violating a ceasefire.Mahmud Bassal, a spokesman for the agency, which operates as a rescue service under Hamas authority, said six of the victims were killed when an Israeli strike targeted a "group of civilians" in northern Gaza.The Israeli military told AFP it was checking the reports of casualties.An army official earlier said Israel may carry out further strikes in Gaza after its forces targeted fighters following three attacks in the southern city of Rafah and the northern town of Beit Lahia.

Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli forces killed nine members of a single Palestinian family when they shelled a bus on Friday, after the military confirmed it had targeted a vehicle that crossed the so-called "yellow line"."Our teams recovered the bodies of nine martyrs, including four children and two women, after Israeli occupation forces directly targeted the vehicle they were travelling in within the Zeitun neighbourhood," said Mahmud Bassal, a spokesperson for the agency operating under Hamas authority, in a statement to AFP Saturday.Bassal said Israeli forces had fired "two tank shells at the vehicle". He noted that the bodies of two children remained missing, as their "remains were scattered due to the intensity of the bombardment".He added that the victims were members of the Shabaan family and were killed while "trying to check on their home" in the Zeitun neighbourhood.The ceasefire between Israeli forces and Hamas is now in its second week, but several incidents have been reported since it began.Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have returned to northern Gaza in search of their homes since the truce began, often struggling to find them amid the sweeping devastation left by more than two years of war.Reuters adds from Cairo: The Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt will remain closed until further notice, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday, adding its reopening will depend on Hamas handing over bodies of deceased hostages.Hamas said later Saturday it will be handing over two more hostage bodies , meaning 12 out of 28 bodies will have been handed over to Israel under a US-brokered ceasefire and hostage deal agreed between Israel and Hamas last week.As part of the deal, Hamas released all 20 living Israeli hostages it had been holding for two years, in return for almost 2,000 Palestinian detainees and convicted prisoners jailed in Israel.The resistance group has so far returned 10 of 28 bodies and says that locating some of the bodies amid the vast destruction in Gaza will take time.The deal requires Israel to return 360 bodies of Palestinians and so far it has handed over 15 bodies in return for each Israeli body it has received.

The United Nations' aid chief took stock of the monumental task of restoring dignity and hygiene to Palestinians clinging to life in Gaza's ruins on Saturday, as Israel and Hamas exchanged more bodies. A convoy of white UN jeeps carried relief coordinator Tom Fletcher and his team through the twisted rubble of shattered homes to see a wastewater treatment plant in Sheikh Radwan, north of Gaza City. "I drove through here seven to eight months ago when most of these buildings were still standing and, to see the devastation -- this is a vast part of the city, just a wasteland -- and it's absolutely devastating to see," he told AFP. The densely populated cities of the Gaza Strip, home to more than two million Palestinians, have largely been reduced to ruins by two years of bombardment and intense fighting between Hamas and the Israeli army. Just over a week since US President Donald Trump helped broker a truce, the main border crossing to Egypt has yet to be reopened, but hundreds of trucks roll in daily via Israeli checkpoints and aid is being distributed. Hamas has returned the final 20 surviving hostages it was holding and has begun to hand over the remains of another 28 who died. On Friday night, it turned over a body identified by Israel as Eliyahu Margalit, 75, who died in the October 7, 2023 attack that ignited the war in Gaza. On Saturday, in line with the terms of the ceasefire deal, Israel returned the bodies of 15 more Palestinians to Gaza, the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said. Surveying the damaged pumping equipment and a grim lake of sewage at the Sheikh Radwan wastewater plant, Fletcher said the task ahead for the UN and aid agencies was a "massive, massive job". The British diplomat said he had met residents returning to destroyed homes trying to dig latrines in the ruins. "They're telling me most of all they want dignity," he said. "We've got to get the power back on so we can start to get the sanitation system back in place. "We have a massive 60-day plan now to surge in food, get a million meals out there a day, start to rebuild the health sector, bring in tents for the winter, get hundreds of thousands of kids back into school." According to figures supplied to mediators by the Israeli military's civil affairs agency and released by the UN humanitarian office, on Thursday some 950 trucks carrying aid and commercial supplies crossed into Gaza from Israel. Relief agencies have called for the Rafah border crossing from Egypt to be reopened to speed the flow of food, fuel and medicines, and Turkey has a team of rescue specialists waiting at the border to help find bodies in the rubble. Some violent incidents have taken place despite the ceasefire. Gaza's civil defence agency, which operates under Hamas authority, said Saturday that it had recovered the bodies of nine Palestinians -- two men, three women and four children -- from the Shaaban family after Israeli troops fired two tank shells at a bus. Two more victims were blown apart in the blast and have yet to be recovered, it said. At Gaza City's Al-Ahli Hospital, the victims were laid out in white shrouds as their relatives mourned. "My daughter, her children and her husband; my son, his children and his wife were killed. What did they do wrong?" demanded grandmother Umm Mohammed Shaaban. "They were little... What did they do wrong? There is no truce."