Gaza faces health and environmental disaster as water quality deteriorates

A senior Gaza health official has warned of an unprecedented health and environmental disaster as worsening water quality and rising pollution take a heavy toll on public health.

Dr Muneer Al-Bursh, Director-General of Gaza’s Health Ministry, said on Tuesday that the average concentration of total dissolved salts in groundwater had reached 3,588 milligrams per litre, more than three-and-a-half times the globally recommended limit for drinking water.

Speaking to reporters, Al-Bursh said the level had risen to as much as 13,000 milligrams per litre in some wells, highlighting the severe deterioration of the coastal aquifer and seawater intrusion.

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He added that tests found bacterial contamination in around 19 per cent of municipal wells, while 40 per cent of wells either operate without effective chlorination systems or require urgent maintenance, increasing the risk of waterborne diseases.

Al-Bursh said that 48 per cent of diseases under epidemiological surveillance are now linked to water and environmental conditions. Waterborne illnesses account for 25 per cent of all recorded cases, while skin diseases make up 23 per cent.

He said health facilities are recording dozens of new infections every day and thousands of cases of skin and gastrointestinal diseases each week, alongside a rise in cases of meningitis, warning that the health crisis will continue to worsen as environmental conditions deteriorate.

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