The American satellite network MSNBC News revealed on Sunday that citizens in the devastated Gaza Strip are suffering from a rapid spread of skin infections and hepatitis due to their use of contaminated water after Israel destroyed most of the desalination plants and wells.

The network reported, citing testimonies from Gazans, doctors and humanitarian organizations in the Strip, that many young children have contracted diseases linked to drinking or bathing in polluted water, and that common diseases include hepatitis and skin diseases.

Oxfam, an international confederation of charities focused on alleviating global poverty, estimated that all of Gaza's desalination plants and 88 percent of its water wells have been destroyed or damaged by devastating Israeli bombardment over the past 10 months.

According to Oxfam, all of Gaza’s sewage treatment plants have disappeared and 70% of sewage pumps have been destroyed. As a result, the amount of water available in Gaza has fallen by 94% since the war began, to less than 5 litres per person per day, the group estimates. (The United Nations says people in emergencies need at least 15 litres per day.)

The network says that Israeli authorities declined to respond to MSNBC News’ request for comment on the water-borne illnesses in Gaza. But the Israeli government body that coordinates aid agencies and the military — COGAT — said last month on its X platform that it had set up a team to address sanitation issues in the enclave, including waste removal and power for a desalination plant.

According to the network, the Office for the Coordination of Government Activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territories said: "The team is also exploring additional measures to improve sanitation in Gaza, including repairing wells, upgrading desalination plants, and extending water lines."

Humanitarian organizations have also tried to help repair infrastructure, install septic tanks and distribute clean water and chlorine tablets, but their access to the Strip is extremely limited. So residents have been left to drink and bathe in untreated seawater contaminated with sewage, without soap or disinfectants.

“There is no significant flow of potable water coming in via tanker trucks crossing the border, no desalination effort, no sewage treatment to keep fecal contamination at bay,” Steve Morrison, senior vice president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a nonprofit think tank, told the network.

Eating food or water contaminated with feces can lead to hepatitis C, a liver disease that can resolve on its own — but poor nutrition and sanitation can increase the risk of complications.

The network quotes Dr. Ahmed Al-Farra, head of the pediatric department at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, as saying last June: “Hepatitis A is widespread in the Gaza Strip at the present time due to poor sanitation, poor food quality, and water pollution.”

He described a 4-year-old boy in his hospital suffering from liver failure due to hepatitis A. Al-Farra said the boy's condition required a transplant, which "was not available in the Gaza Strip, even before the war."

The UN estimates that there have been nearly 40,000 cases of hepatitis A in Gaza since the war began, compared to just 85 cases from October 2022 to July 2023. This is in addition to more than a million new cases of acute respiratory infections, more than half a million cases of acute diarrhea and more than 100,000 cases of jaundice. From October to late June, the World Health Organization also recorded some 65,000 cases of skin rash and more than 103,000 cases of scabies and lice.

Alaa al-Bata, the mayor of Khan Yunis, told the network that at least 30 water wells in southern Gaza were destroyed last month.

"A large part of the other wells are located in evacuation areas and we fear that they will be destroyed. We are suffering from a severe water crisis," he said.

Nisreen Al-Qara, who has been displaced with her family and living in Khan Younis since last week, described long queues for bathing water.

She added: "We drink salt water many times, and we do not think about what will happen to us later. The important thing is that I drink when I feel thirsty and that's all."