The Water Authority held the Israeli government responsible for the current situation and the consequences of the brutal aggression against Gaza, which left hundreds of martyrs and thousands of wounded among our people in the Gaza Strip, and left behind massive destruction.

In a statement issued on Sunday evening, the Water Authority considered that the Israeli government’s attempt to stop basic services, such as electricity and water, from citizens in the Gaza Strip as collective punishment, is a serious war crime that will have dire consequences on the ground.

It expressed its deep concern about the repercussions of the severe shortage in water supply to the residents of the Gaza Strip during this difficult period, as the percentage of the total decrease in supply to date throughout the Gaza Strip has reached an estimated 40%.

It said that this decrease in supply came as a result of a number of reasons, the most important of which is the Israeli government’s implementation of its decision to cut off the water supply supplied by “Makrot,” which led to stopping the supply of water supplied to the Central Governorate, and reducing the quantities supplied to Khan Yunis Governorate and Gaza City by about 40%. .

It explained that the power outage seriously affected the operation of desalination plants and wastewater treatment plants. To date, the desalination plants in both northern Gaza and the central governorate have stopped working completely, while the quantities of water from the southern desalination plant have decreased to about half. Sewage treatment plants are completely stopped, and the power outage has led to the cessation of the main water wells or a decrease in pumping rates from these wells.

The statement indicated that the water crisis is expected to worsen in the coming period in Gaza, as a result of the brutal Israeli aggression, which every time inflicts heavy losses on the water and sanitation infrastructure by targeting water facilities directly or indirectly, by destroying the streets, and thus the infrastructure. Water and sanitation infrastructure or due to power outages.

The statement recalled that the losses incurred by the water and sanitation sector as a result of the May 2021 aggression exceeded $40 million.

It stressed that the Israeli practices of stopping basic services, especially disrupting water and sewage systems, will exacerbate the difficult humanitarian situation in Gaza, and will have long-term repercussions on all health, economic, social and environmental aspects of life, and will require double and major efforts that may extend for years and huge investments to repair and restart them. If the treatment plants stop working, it threatens the occurrence of a serious health hazard resulting from torrents of wastewater, and if they worsen, they will lead to the spread of epidemics and diseases among citizens, in addition to re-polluting the groundwater reservoir and re-polluting the sea in Gaza.

The head of the Water Authority, Mazen Ghoneim, called on the international community to take firm positions and practical steps to pressure Israel to stop this Israeli trend that is contrary to all laws, laws and principles of humanity, which is to use water as a weapon or collective punishment against the people of Gaza, which will have dire consequences that would To affect all aspects of life and development, calling for the necessity of restoring electricity services and providing the fuel necessary to operate desalination plants and treatment plants.

He also called for the need to provide protection for technical crews to carry out the necessary maintenance and operation work in water and sanitation facilities.

He warned against the continuation of these serious Israeli violations that may lead to returning the water situation in the Gaza Strip to its previous disastrous situation, which threatened to make life in the Strip impossible to continue, and to destroy all the great and strenuous efforts made by the Palestinian government with international partners and supporters during the past years following the aggression. The year 2014 in Gaza, which led to success in overcoming challenges and creating strategic projects in which the volume of investment reached approximately one billion dollars.