Israel’s genocide in Gaza has destroyed over 1,000 miles of water and sanitation infrastructure in Gaza and reduced the region’s water capacity to a small fraction of what it was prior to the genocide, officials have assessed, underscoring the dire need for further aid and an end to Israel’s blockade.

According to a report by Oxfam, Israel has wrecked at least 1,040 miles of Gaza’s water and sanitation network, with over 80 percent of infrastructure partially or totally destroyed. This includes the destruction of the vast majority of sewage pumps, desalination plants and municipal wells, the group found.

Northern Gaza and Rafah, where Israel’s assault was the most intense, have seen the worst impacts. According to Oxfam, water access in these areas has been slashed to a mere 7 percent of levels from before the genocide. In those areas, Palestinians only have access to roughly 1.5 gallons of water per day per person, “barely enough for one toilet flush,” the group said.

“Now that the bombs have stopped, we have only just begun to grasp the sheer scale of destruction to Gaza’s water and sanitation infrastructure. Most vital water and sanitation networks have been entirely lost or paralyzed, creating catastrophic hygiene and health conditions,” said Oxfam’s humanitarian coordinator for the Strip, Clémence........

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