RAMALLAH, February 12, 2025 (WAFA) – The Israeli aggression has destroyed 85% of the water and sewage facilities in the Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Water Authority (PWA).

The PWA made this announcement during a meeting of the Thematic Cluster on Water in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah.

As a result of the destruction inflicted on the sector, the PWA added, the Gaza Strip was facing an acute potable water crisis in addition to other imminent threats arising from the breakdown of sewage treatment plants, causing sewage to flow into residential areas and spreading epidemics among the population.

Speaking at the meeting, head of the Thematic Cluster on Water, Marwan Bardawil, said that the Israeli occupation inflicted losses on the water sector estimated at over $1 billion.

Bardawil added that before the onset of the Israeli military aggression on the Strip in October 2023, the PWA had managed to transform the Strip from an unhabitable area to that with access to potable water.

He pointed out that the PWA carried out emergency interventions at the level of supplying water to areas across the Strip, rehabilitation water systems, and operating wells within the available means and capabilities, noting that as part of the Emergency response phase, a set of emergency interventions were required, including the supply of solar-powered water desalination units with a capacity ranging between 20 to 500 cubic meters a day.

K.F.