Gaza- At a time when people are still Gaza Strip They suffer from systematic starvation due to the Israeli siege, a new human tragedy is exacerbated with a large number of water desalination plants stopping due to running out of fuel, which threatens a mass thirst dotage that threatens 2.2 million people.
In the tents of displacement and temporary shelter centers, the scenes of children are repeated as they move with plastic pots in search of a little water, while mothers and fathers stand in long lines under the burning sun, hoping that one water truck will reach them a day.
The majority of Gaza population depends on providing water on the efforts of charitable institutions and initiatives, and with the intensification of the crisis, workers in this field warn of a complete collapse in the services of “watering water”, at a time when the stations are unable to continue work and the demand increases in an unprecedented way.
Lack of watering
The coordinator of one of the charitable initiatives, Ahmed Abdo, says that the water crisis in the sector has reached a critical stage recently, in light of the majority of desalination plants from work due to the running out of fuel or its disruption, in addition to the closure of a large number of them in the north, after the orders of the Israeli displacement that forced the residents to leave their areas.
Abdo explained in his interview with Al -Jazeera Net that fuel transport trucks are no longer able to work due to the lack of fuel, while some other desalination plants stopped as a result of unorganized technical breakdowns due to the lack of spare parts, which exacerbated the scale of the disaster.
He said that the problem of providing water for the displaced and citizens has become “very large”, as the initiative that supervises it was forced to stop 3 humanitarian projects to provide drinking water, due to the difficulty of securing the required quantities.
He pointed out that the severe pressure on the few remaining stations of citizens and institutions led to a great crowding and delay in obtaining water, adding, “Today, Saturday, we were able to distribute only one water truck, which is the first in days, after we were distributing 4 or 5 trucks daily.”
He added that the truck that was distributed did not meet the large number of the displaced people who gathered around it, and ran out of water before most of them could get something from it. He concluded by saying: “People are thirsty, and they are afraid and suffer severely, there is no water for drinking, and not even salty water for cleaning.”
Threat
While many desalination plants closed its doors, the Abdel Salam Yassin “Eta” station, the largest operating company in this field in Gaza, is struggling to continue working.
Eta cooperates with international organizations K.UNICEF AndInternational Committee of the Red Cross In desalination and distribution for free to citizens, as these organizations provide fuel, filters and the necessary chemicals, but UNICEF informed the company 10 days ago that its support stopped after it was unable to provide the fuel needed to operate desalination plants.
In light of this stop, Eta was forced to publish advertisements in which the locals were asked to buy fuel for the station, in an attempt to ensure its vital work.
“Since the second of March, no fuel has entered Gaza, we were relying on what partner institutions provided to us, and the remaining stocks, in addition to what was purchased from the fuel from the black market, is close to the existence, and there is no longer fuel in the markets.”
Saleh explained that the company announced the state of emergency, warning that it may be forced to close its three stations (north and south of the sector) at any moment.
The company was severely damaged during the recent war, as the occupation destroyed its headquarters in the “Western” neighborhood of “Western”, as well as the destruction of many water transport vehicles.
“Today we have to buy a liter of diesel at about 33 dollars from the black market, although its real price does not exceed two dollars,” Saleh added. The three “ETA” stations consume between 3 thousand and 4 thousand liters of diesel per day to operate desalination facilities and water distribution trucks.
The extermination of thirst
For his part, the Director General of the Government Media Office in the Gaza Strip, Ismail Al -Thawabta, warned against the exacerbation of the water crisis in the Strip to catastrophic levels.
“Gaza is heading towards a mass thirst catastrophe that is added to the crime of starvation and genocide committed by the Israeli occupation against more than 2.2 million people,” he told Al -Jazeera Net.
He pointed out that the stopping of desalination plants in the various governorates as a result of running out of fuel and the interruption of international supply lines, threatens a real health and environmental disaster, especially with the entry of the summer, high temperatures, and the presence of hundreds of thousands of displaced people in camps that lack the lowest elements of life.
He added, “It is unfortunate that many international organizations do not meet their promises and do not provide the minimum needs of operating these vital stations, despite their knowledge that 97% of Gaza water is not suitable for drinking, and that the residents depend on these stations almost completely to survive.”
The constants carried the Israeli occupationThe United States of America And the international bodies that “collude with silence” are fully responsible for the “crime of collective thirst”, which is committed slowly and with the intention, in flagrant violation For international humanitarian law AndGeneva Conventions And basic human rights.