Rabat – The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has sounded the alarm over the extensive damage to Gaza’s essential infrastructure amid Israeli ongoing genocide.
In a recent report, the agency disclosed that nearly 67% of Gaza’s water, sanitation, and infrastructure facilities have been destroyed or severely damaged after eight months of relentless bombardment by Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF).
The UNRWA’s statement painted a grim picture of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
“Over the past eight months, the Gaza Strip has seen around 67% of its water, sanitation, and infrastructure facilities either destroyed or significantly damaged,” the statement read.
The destruction has had dire consequences for Gaza’s residents. The statement highlighted the health risks posed by the lack of sanitation and clean water, particularly as temperatures rise and infectious diseases spread more easily.
“The ongoing spread of infectious diseases coupled with high temperatures and water shortages present a significant threat to the health of the population across Gaza,” it warned.
Official figures underscore the scale of the crisis facing Palestinian refugees. On World Refugee Day, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics revealed that over six million Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA.
Of these, approximately 2.5 million reside in the occupied West Bank and the besieged Gaza Strip, accounting for 42% of registered Palestinian refugees.
The report provided further context to the refugee situation, noting that refugees make up about 66% of Gaza’s population and 26.3% of the West Bank’s population.
Additionally, large numbers of Palestinian refugees live in neighboring countries, with 40.2% in Jordan, 9.7% in Syria, and 8.2% in Lebanon.
The statement from UNRWA also pointed out that these figures likely underrepresent the true number of displaced Palestinian.
“These estimates represent the minimum number of Palestinian refugees, considering there are unregistered refugees. The figures do not include Palestinians displaced after 1949 up to the eve of the June 1967 war,” the statement explained. “It also excludes those who were displaced or deported in 1967 due to the war and those who were not refugees initially.”
Supported by the United States, the IOF’s eight-month long merciless war has resulted in almost 123,000 Palestinian casualties, with over 10,000 people reported missing.
