Within the boundaries of Israel’s new evacuation orders is the Southern Gaza desalination plant, the main source of water for the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians forced into the al-Mawasi camp.
The spokesperson for the United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, warned that the results of the evacuation order could be devastating. “The Israeli military issued another displacement order in Deir al-Balah… [dealing] yet another devastating blow to the already fragile lifeline keeping people alive across the Gaza Strip,” Stephane Dujarric told reporters.
“Within the newly designated areas is the Southern Gaza desalination plant and other vital water infrastructure. The plant is a main source of drinking water for internally displaced people in al-Mawasi, and it serves hundreds of thousands of people, producing about 2,500 cubic meters of water per day. The loss of this facility would be catastrophic for the people who depend on it for access to fresh water,” she explained.
Over the past week, deaths of deprivation have started to spike. Doctors in Gaza report wounded patients would be able to survive their injuries, but die due to a lack of food. On Sunday, the Gaza Health Ministry reported 18 people had starved to death over the past 24 hours.
Palestinians in Gaza are starving to death due to the Israeli siege and military operations. Tel Aviv only allows a trickle of food into the Strip, and the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is the sole entity allowed to distribute the aid. About 1,000 Palestinians have been killed traveling to GHF sites since the agency began operations in Gaza two months ago.
Additionally, the IDF has slowly issued evacuation orders to Palestinians, forcing Gazans into a shrinking area of the Strip. “As of early July, 80 percent of water sanitation and hygiene facilities fall within the Israeli militarised zone or in areas that have been placed under displacement orders,” Dujarric explained.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to continue to force Palestinians into a smaller region until they are all forced into a concentration camp in southern Gaza.
