Israel could increase water supply to Gaza after international pressure

Restoration of power supply to key desalination plant would tackle humanitarian crisis in south of enclave

A woman collects water in Rafah, southern Gaza. Palestinians in the enclave have struggled to find water sources as the war rages on. AFP

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The UN children's fund announced plans to ease the water crisis in southern Gaza, with the Israeli government close to approving a move to increase the electricity supply to a desalination plant.

Israel has been under international pressure to ease the catastrophic humanitarian crisis in the besieged enclave, where the war has cut or disrupted all major sources of water and left millions without access.

Gaza produced 5 per cent of its usual water supply in March as a result of the damage to infrastructure, said a UN Environment Programme report released this month. In April, it was estimated there was only enough water for each of the enclave's 2.3 million residents to receive between two to eight litres a day.

That marked a significant drop from the daily supply of 85 litres per person before October, the report added.

Unicef said on Thursday that it reached a deal with Israel to restore power to a key desalination plant in Khan Younis, southern Gaza.

"Unicef confirms an agreement was reached to re-establish the medium voltage feeder power line for the Southern Gaza Desalination Plant," said Jonathan Crickx, the agency's spokesman in Palestine.

"This is an important milestone and we are very much looking forward to seeing it implemented."

The plant should be able to produce up to 15 million litres of water a day at full capacity, Unicef said.

It was established with UN funding in 2017 to provide drinking water to Gazans in Deir Al Balah, Khan Younis and Al Mawasi. Many have fled to a displacement camp in Al Mawasi due to the violence.

Gaza depends on Israel for much of its electricity. Israel cut power to the enclave after the war erupted in October.

Munther Shublak, director general of the Coastal Municipalities Water Utility, told The National that his department had been working with international organisations to restore the power supply from Israel.

“We co-ordinated with the European Union, the UN children’s agency and others to pressure Israel to allow a direct power line from Israel through Salah Al Din Street to reactivate water plants,” he said.

The planned increase in electricity “would enable the plants to operate around the clock”, he said. “Through this plan, we will try to prevent citizens from dying of thirst.”

A generator has allowed the plant in Khan Younis to operate, but fuel has been difficult to obtain amid the fighting and Israel's bombardment of the enclave.

“If we need 1,000 litres of diesel daily, we only get 19 or 20 litres, and not regularly,” Mr Shublak said. “Since the army entered Rafah last month, no diesel has been able to enter the enclave, creating a real crisis.”

He said residents of northern Gaza will still have problems with water as the current plan is only for the plants that are located in the south of the enclave.

Palestinians in Gaza told The National that there has no been no improvement in the water supply and the situation remains the same.

Mohammed Aboud, 22, fled from Gaza city to Khan Younis then to Rafah and finally to Nuseirat refugee camp in the centre of the strip. He said water is sometimes unavailable and when it is available, it is often unsafe to drink.

“We fill around 200 to 400 litres weekly, and 400 litres costs around 40 shekels [$10.60]. It used to cost around five,” he told The National.

Bottled water is not always available in the market, he said, adding that he usually has to queue to fill his water bucket. Due to high demand, it runs out quickly.

Tareq Abed Al A’al, 35, from Jabalia camp in the north of the Gaza Strip, told The National that the water coming in by lorry is expensive and unaffordable.

“We are very careful with our water use. Even getting water for washing is not easy. Most water pumps work on solar systems, so they operate for limited hours,” he said, adding that they “can’t fill a lot of water because the trucks only have a limited for every person, so its enough for all”.

Gazans usually have to walk for long distances to fill their water buckets due to pumps being destroyed in the war.

The Gaza war started with a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people.

Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed more than 37,700 people, the enclave's health authorities said.