Aid agencies deliver just 29ml of water per person to Gaza
Read all our coverage of the war between Israel and Hamas Most of those displaced are sheltering in UN facilities, hospitals and other public buildings—all of them bursting at the seams. At a vocational-training centre in Khan Younis, the most crowded UN shelter, each resident has less than two square metres of personal space and each toilet is shared by at least 600 people. Before the war the average person in Gaza received 80 litres of water a day.
In emergencies, the UN says a minimum of 15 litres is needed for drinking, cooking and hygiene. The typical daily allotment now is just three litres, much of it dirty stuff that comes from agricultural wells. Bathing has become an unimaginable luxury for many Gazans, and dehydration is a common complaint.
Health workers say there have been thousands of cases of diarrhoea caused by poor sanitation. Food is scarce too. Shoppers struggle to find basics like eggs, rice and cooking oil.
They queue overnight at the handful of bakeries still operating to secure a few loaves of flatbread. A typical meal is ready-to-eat staples and a few vegetables: canned tuna and raw onions, perhaps with a bit of bread. Some mothers are using contaminated water to prepare baby formula.
On November 7th the Israeli army denied that there was a shortage of food, water and other basic supplies in Gaza. It said that 665 lorries carrying 3,000 tonnes of food and 1.15m litres of water had entered the enclave since October 21st, when Israel lifted its veto on aid deliveries. The numbers sound impressive—until you divide them among 2.3m people over 18 days.
Read more on livemint.com
