By Rabia Iclal Turan
WASHINGTON (AA) - The UN on Friday warned that displaced people who sought shelter in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip due to Israel's offensive in Rafah face shortage of safe drinking water.
“That's what our partners who are working on sanitation and water are telling us,” UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters during the daily press briefing.
“They report that overall, water production in Gaza is just one-fifth of what it was prior to the intensification of hostilities in Gaza in October,” he added.
Noting that civilians in Gaza also face “heightened” health and environmental risks due to limited access to clean water, he said there are no functional sewage pumping stations in Khan Yunis.
More than 32,000 internally displaced Palestinians have fled the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip over the past two days, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
This follows more than 1 million people fleeing Rafah in the past three weeks as Israel continues military attacks in the area, according to UNRWA figures.