Gazans have very limited access to clean water amid Israeli onslaught: UN agency

By Anadolu staff

ISTANBUL (AA) – Palestinians have very limited access to clean water amid a deadly Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said Sunday.

“Water is life and Gaza is out of water,” UNRWA said in a statement on X.

“There is very limited access to clean water & sanitation amid relentless bombardment.”

The UN agency warned that Gaza’s humanitarian crisis, antagonized by limited aid deliveries and destruction of infrastructure, “puts thousands of vulnerable people at risk of disease.”

Israel has launched a deadly offensive on Gaza following an Oct. 7 Hamas attack, killing at least 27,365 Palestinians and injuring 66,630 others, while nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

The Israeli offensive has left 85% of Gaza’s population internally displaced 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.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala