The Water Authority said on Wednesday that 85% of the water and sanitation facilities in the Gaza Strip were destroyed as a result of the occupation's aggression, which began on October 7, 2023.

This came during a special meeting held in Ramallah regarding the Modest Water Group for Gaza, which emerged from the Sectoral Committee for the Water Sector, in order to shed light on the current reality of the water sector in light of the destruction it has suffered.

She explained that as a result of this destruction in the water and sanitation sector in the Gaza Strip, the Strip is witnessing a severe crisis in potable water, in addition to imminent dangers resulting from the disruption of wastewater treatment plants and its flow between residential areas, exposing citizens to epidemics and diseases.

The head of the group, Marwan Al-Bardawil, stated that this aggression by the occupation caused huge losses in the water sector estimated at more than a billion dollars to restore what was destroyed, pointing to what the Water Authority was able to achieve before the aggression, which is transforming the Gaza Strip from an uninhabitable area to an area with potable water, as well as its plan to enhance and develop the water situation.

Al-Bardawil also reviewed a set of emergency interventions, whether at the level of supplying areas with water or rehabilitating lines and networks and operating wells according to the available capabilities and what the upcoming situation requires, such as the emergency response phase of urgent interventions, such as supplying desalination units that operate on solar energy with capacities ranging from 20 cups to 500 cups per day, stressing the importance of the role played by partners in the water sector in terms of urgent responses and crystallizing the prepared plans in a manner that is compatible with achieving rapid response.

At the end of the meeting, the attendees agreed on the need to support the urgent intervention plan, find flexible financing mechanisms, and intensify work to facilitate the process of bringing the necessary materials and equipment into the sector.