Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) called on Wednesday for the immediate restoration of the truce and the allowing of electricity and humanitarian aid into Gaza, including fuel, water supplies, and sanitation, to avoid further loss of life.
The organization confirmed in a press release that access to water, electricity, and fuel is being blocked in Gaza amid the collapse of the truce.
The organization warned that Israel is continuing a devastating warfare tactic in Gaza, effectively blocking access to water by cutting off electricity and fuel to the Strip, while the bombing of the Gaza Strip continues amid the collapse of the truce and the rising death toll.
Paula Navarro, MSF’s water and sanitation coordinator in Gaza, said: “With new attacks that have resulted in hundreds of deaths in just a few days, Israel continues to deprive the population of water in Gaza by cutting off electricity and preventing the entry of fuel, both of which are essential for water infrastructure, including the operation of pumps.”
She added: “For those who have already suffered from the ongoing bombardment, the suffering is compounded by the water crisis. Many are forced to drink unfit water, while others lack access to it altogether.”
For her part, the MSF medical team coordinator in Gaza confirmed that the number of children suffering from skin diseases is a direct result of the destruction of Gaza and the blockade imposed on it.
She noted that while treating adults and children with severe war injuries, our team is treating an increasing number of children with preventable skin diseases such as scabies, which causes intense suffering and, in severe cases, leads to scratching the skin until it bleeds, exposing them to infection.
She added, “This is due to children’s inability to bathe, which facilitates the spread of scabies and other infections, leaving permanent scars.”
As the humanitarian crisis worsens in the Gaza Strip, MSF confirmed that amid Israeli bombing, where fuel has run out, the remaining water system will completely collapse, cutting off people’s access to water, with dire humanitarian consequences for the millions still inside Gaza.
She noted that, in addition to the injuries and deaths caused by the bombing, access to safe water significantly impacts people’s living conditions and health. In healthcare centers in Al-Mawasalat and Khan Younis, jaundice, diarrhea, and scabies are among the most common conditions MSF treats, all resulting from the lack of safe water supplies.
MSF explained that even before the resumption of hostilities in Gaza earlier last week, which resulted in the collapse of the two-month-old ceasefire, Israel had banned all aid from entering Gaza. As a result, humanitarian efforts to rehabilitate Gaza’s water system continue to face significant obstacles and delays due to the dual prior approval system imposed by the Israeli authorities.
She said many water and sanitation supplies require prior approval, including chlorine, essential spare parts for desalination units, generators, well pumps, and water tanks.
Paula Navarro said, “The restrictions imposed by the Israeli authorities have made it almost impossible to rebuild a functioning water system. Water production is energy-dependent, but new generators larger than 30 kilowatts have not been allowed in. We are forced to ‘reconstruct’ generators by using spare parts from other generators.”
MSF reiterated its call on Israel to lift the inhumane blockade imposed on Gaza, comply with international humanitarian law and its obligations as an occupying power, and ensure unhindered access to aid to the Strip.
