Oxfam: Israeli occupation has destroyed 1,650 kilometers of water and sewage networks in Gaza
GAZA, Feb. 19 (YPA) – The British organization Oxfam said that Israel has destroyed more than 80% of the water and sewage networks in the Gaza Strip, leading to catastrophic health conditions.
Klemens Laguarda, the humanitarian coordinator for Oxfam in the Gaza Strip, said in a statement on Tuesday, “Now that the bombs have stopped, we are just beginning to realize the magnitude of the enormous destruction.”
The organization explained that “Israel” has destroyed 1,650 kilometers of water and sewage networks.
It noted that residents in northern Gaza and the city of Rafah in the southern part of the Gaza Strip are living on only 5.7 liters of water per day, which is less than 7% of pre-war levels. It stated that this is hardly enough for a single flush of a toilet.
Oxfam expressed hope for a continued ceasefire and the flow of fuel and aid so that Palestinians can rebuild their lives.
In the same context, Layla Bakr, the regional director of the United Nations Population Fund for Arab countries, said that the level of destruction due to the war on the Gaza Strip is visible as far as the eye can see.
Bakr called in an interview with Al Jazeera for the improvement of living conditions to help the people of Gaza rebuild and restore their normal lives.
She pointed out that people’s connection to the land remains strong, despite the amount of rubble and debris and the crowding of residents in unlivable conditions.
An assessment issued by the United Nations, the European Union, and the World Bank showed that rebuilding the Gaza Strip and the West Bank will require $53.2 billion over the next ten years, of which $20 billion is needed in the first three years.
On January 19, a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement between the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, and “Israel” came into effect, marking the first phase of a six-week period, following a genocide against the Gaza Strip over 15 months that resulted in the martyrdom and injury of more than 160,000 people, most of whom are children and women, and unprecedented destruction not seen since World War II.
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