By Mohamed Majed
GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - A Palestinian spokesman on Thursday warned of a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza amid a severe shortage of water supply.
“The Israeli occupation destroyed numerous water wells and desalination plants and cut off water supply,” Hosni Muhanna, a spokesman of the Gaza Municipality, told Anadolu.
“Persistent power outages and lack of fuel hinder efforts to provide the population with water,” he said.
The spokesman warned that the Israeli strikes on infrastructure “have significantly contributed to worsening living conditions and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.”
"The water shortage has reached a staggering 90% due to the disruption of water supply from the Mekorot pipeline in Israel…and absence of electricity and fuel required to operate water wells," Muhanna said.
The Palestinian spokesman appealed to the international community “to shoulder its responsibility towards Gaza, which is facing an utterly dire situation due to the ongoing conflict."
In a dramatic escalation of Mideast tensions, Israeli forces have launched a sustained and forceful military campaign against the Gaza Strip, a response to a military offensive by the Palestinian group Hamas in Israeli territories.
The conflict began when Hamas initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against Israel, a multi-pronged surprise attack including a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel via land, sea, and air, which Hamas said was in retaliation for the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and Israeli settlers’ growing violence against Palestinians.
In response to Hamas' actions, the Israeli military launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets within the Gaza Strip. Israel's response has extended into cutting water and electricity supplies to Gaza, further worsening the living conditions in an area that has reeled under a crippling siege since 2007.
More than 2,700 people have been killed in the conflict since Saturday, including over 1,400 Palestinians and 1,300 Israelis.
*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala in Istanbul