Displaced Palestinians girls fill a plastic jerrycan with water at a school run by UNRWA, the U.N. agency helping Palestinian refugees, which they use as a shelter west of Gaza City. AP
The desalination plant provided 18,000 cubic metres of drinkable water per day for the people of Deir al-Balah.
Unfortunately, Israel’s destruction of water supply lines throughout the war made this plant invaluable.
Maher Ashour Salem, director general of Planning, Water, and Sanitation in the Gaza Municipality, had stated earlier that “the amount of water currently available in the strip is less than 25 percent of the normal quantities.”
As of 25 February, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that one of the three water mains supplying Gaza from Israel through the Mekorot Water Company — the Bani Said line in Deir al-Balah — has been out of service for over a month due to damage from military operations in the buffer zone.
According to the Israeli Legal Centre for Freedom of Movement Gisha, Israel has denied requests to repair the pipeline, exacerbating water shortages in al-Bureij, al-Maghazi, Deir al-Balah, and Khuzaa.
Israel directed an immediate halt to Gaza's electricity supply Sunday to pressure Hamas into releasing the remaining captives and accepting an extension to the first phase of the ceasefire, which has been in effect since 19 January.
Israel’s decision comes a week after it blocked all food and aid supplies to the war-battered territory, a move reminiscent of the initial days of the war when Israel announced a "siege" on Gaza.
“Israel continues to use and abuse its control of Gaza, tightening and loosening restrictions as a weapon of war, a bargaining chip in political negotiations, and a tool of pressure and punishment,” according to Gisha.
The Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) reports that 4,200 aid trucks entered the strip throughout the ceasefire.
However, the OCHA Food Security Sector reports that goods and inputs required to resume agricultural activity in Gaza were not allowed entry.
The truce's initial phase ended on 1 March, with episodes of Israeli violence since the implementation of the ceasefire, including an air strike Sunday that killed at least three Palestinians.
Israel has killed at least 120 Palestinians, wounded 490 others, and committed over 400 violations of the ceasefire/prisoner swap agreement since 19 January.
Hamas has repeatedly called for an immediate start to negotiations on the ceasefire's second phase, which was mediated by the United States, Qatar, and Egypt to end the war permanently.
The extension of the first phase of the ceasefire is an attempt to realize US President Donald Trump’s colonial plan of forcibly displacing the people of Gaza and establishing a “Middle East Riviera.”
In response, an Extraordinary Arab Summit held in Cairo last Tuesday rejected that proposal and instead introduced and supported Egypt’s Gaza reconstruction plan.
Hamas agreed to the plan on Sunday during a transitional period, stating that the group is ready to move forward with the second phase of the ceasefire.
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