Middle East
UN aid agency: Water for people in the Gaza Strip is becoming scarce
Palestinians flee the Gaza Strip with their belongings. photo
© Atia Darwish/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
Israel blocks supplies to the Gaza Strip. This means that, among other things, water is becoming scarce. The UN relief agency for Palestinian refugees warns: a question of life and death.
The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) has used drastic words to warn of a life-threatening water shortage for the people in the region Gaza Strip warned of Israeli blockade. “It has become a matter of life and death,” Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner General, said on Saturday, according to a statement. Fuel now urgently needs to be delivered to Gaza in order to provide water for two million people. The blockade, including for humanitarian aid supplies, has already lasted a week and must be lifted immediately.
According to the UN, clean water is running out because the hydroelectric power station and public water networks are no longer functioning. People are forced to use dirty water from wells, which increases the risk of water-borne diseases. Drinking water is also becoming scarce at the UN base in the southern Gaza Strip, where the aid organization has moved its operations. Thousands of people sought refuge there. “People, including young children, the elderly and women, will die from severe dehydration,” Lazzarini warned.
The Israeli military sealed off the Gaza Strip in response to the atrocities committed by the Islamist Hamas. It also carries out massive air strikes on the densely populated coastal strip.
Biden is concerned about the humanitarian situation
US President Joe Biden once again assured Israel of the solidarity of the United States, but also expressed concern about the situation in the Gaza Strip.
“We must not lose sight of the fact that the overwhelming majority of Palestinians have nothing to do with Hamas or Hamas’s disgusting attacks, and that they are suffering as a result,” Biden said in Philadelphia. US teams are in the region to ensure humanitarian assistance for the people of the Gaza Strip in coordination with Arab states and the United Nations.