Gaza, MINA – Israel occupation has cut off power to two desalination plants in the Deir Al-Balah area of central Gaza, depriving thousands of Palestinians of water, according to the local municipality, Palestine Chronicle reported.
In a statement on Monday, the municipality said that the South Sea Desalination Plant and the Basra Desalination Plant ceased operations after Israeli occupation forces cut off the electricity supply, the Middle East Monitor (MEMO) reported.
The plants produce about 20,000 cubic meters of desalinated water daily which supply about 70 percent of the area’s residents with water, the municipality noted.
Looming Humanitarian Disaster
Director General of Planning, Water and Sanitation in the Gaza municipality, Maher Ashour Salem, warned that “the amount of water currently available in the Strip is less than 25 percent of the normal quantities.”
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He explained that more than 70 percent of water had been lost due to Israel’s destruction of the water supply lines.
Ashour warned of a looming humanitarian disaster if the Israeli water company cuts off the water supply which makes up 80 percent of the currently available water. []
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
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