Risk of flooding increases in Gaza as water plant shut down by Israel. The decision, compounded by Israel’s total blockade on the entry of aid, could threaten public health, the ICRC said.
Pulling the plug on the Gaza Strip’s main desalination and water treatment plant has increased the risk of sewage water flooding into civilian areas, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has warned.
Israel on Sunday cut off electricity that powers the South Gaza Desalination Plant that had been able to supply up to 18,000 cubic metres of water of drinking quality a day since it was reconnected in November last year – 13 months after it was first cut off.
“Without electricity, the plant can only provide about 2,500 cubic metres of water per day and the amount of drinking water available in southern Gaza will be substantially reduced, affecting approximately 600,000 people in Deir Al Balah and Khan Younis,” the UN said in its latest situation report.
