![Palestinians in Rafah city meet their water needs from mobile tanks in the area, in Rafah, Gaza on January 08, 2024. [ Abed Rahim Khatib - Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/AA-20240108-33385147-33385143-GAZA_GRAPPLE_WITH_WATER_SHORTAGE_AMID_ONGOING_ISRAELI_ATTACKS.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
Some 66 per cent of the Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip suffer from the spread of waterborne diseases such as cholera, chronic diarrhoea and intestinal diseases, due to the lack of drinkable water and the closure of all water desalination plants as a result of Israel’s genocidal bombing campaign in the Strip, the Palestinian Environmental Quality Authority (EQA) has said.
In a statement issued yesterday, the EQA said the Israeli bombing of sewage lines has caused them to flood and led to a health and environmental catastrophe.
The EQA confirmed that the Israeli occupation’s aggression resulted in the uprooting of about 50,000 trees and the bulldozing of thousands of acres of agricultural land, nurseries and gardens, which leads to increased desertification, loss of biodiversity, deterioration of soil quality and increased carbon dioxide emissions.
It added that it aims to expose the Israeli occupation’s crimes against the environment, which negatively impact climate change.
Dire food crisis in southern Gaza: Residents struggle amidst Israeli attacks