Gaza: Gaza Municipality Saturday warned of a worsening water crisis after the main pipeline, which supplies the city with about 70 percent of water, was shut down amid the ongoing Israeli war. It said in a statement that the Mekorot pipeline, which crosses the eastern Shuja’iyeh neighborhood, had stopped pumping since Thursday evening as Israeli forces overran the area.
According to Jordan News Agency, municipal crews were in contact with relevant authorities to gain access to the pipeline, which covered about 20 percent of the city’s daily water needs before the outbreak of the war in October 2023, to inspect and operate it. After the destruction of most of the water wells and the central desalination plant northwest of Gaza city, the municipality now relies on Mekorot that supplies it with 70 percent of water needs, it said, adding that some of the water was distributed by truck tankers to areas outside the water network.
The municipality accused the Israeli occupation army of targeting water facilities, resulting in widespread destruction of networks and wells and a severe water crisis for large areas of the city. It called on people to rationalize water consumption and promote social solidarity to overcome “this critical phase”, adding that it will seek to secure a limited supply of water in cooperation with private well owners and neighborhood committees, and also get fuel to operate the wells.
The municipality appealed to human rights and international organizations to pressure the occupation authority for the resumption of pumping, warning of a health and environmental disaster with rising temperatures and growing demand for water in the coming period.