Gaza suffers clean water scarcity amid spread of solid waste: UN agency

By Anadolu staff

ISTANBUL (AA) – Clean water is scarce amid a spread of solid waste across the Gaza Strip, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) warned Sunday.

“Shelters are severely overcrowded,” UNRWA said in a statement.

“Clean water is scarce. Solid waste is accumulating. Spread of diseases is on the rise,” it added.

The UN refugee agency said that sanitary conditions are unsustainable in the Palestinian enclave.

“The situation is catastrophic,” it warned. “UNRWA teams continue working to provide critical aid.”

Israel has launched a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 Hamas attack, killing more than 29,690 people and causing mass destruction and shortages of necessities, while nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed.

The Israeli war on Gaza has pushed 85% of the territory's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala