The Coastal Municipalities Water Utility launches an urgent appeal and distress call to all active international, regional, and local institutions regarding the cascading collapses of the water and sanitation services system in the Gaza Strip, and with the approaching rainy and winter season and the real threat it poses to the lives of hundreds of thousands of residents and displaced persons, amid the continued denial of entry of power generators, spare parts, and consumables especially engine oils which has placed all service facilities in complete paralysis.
The continued prevention of entry of engine oils for many months will ultimately lead to the failure of power generators that operate all water and sanitation facilities, the mobile pumps needed to pump rainwater and confront floods, as well as the failure of rainwater suction trucks and sewage line clearing vehicles, and the failure of a large number of drinking water tankers transporting water to camps and residential neighborhoods.
This is not a partial event, but a humanitarian tragedy and an environmental and health catastrophe that may strike various areas of the Gaza Strip and lead to the loss of thousands of lives at a critical moment as a result of rain and floods and the lack of means necessary to confront these expected disasters.
Accordingly, we appeal to all active parties to intervene urgently and immediately in order to:
- Allow the immediate entry of power generators, spare parts, and operational consumables.
- Secure the entry of engine oils and fuel necessary to operate water and sanitation facilities and mobile pumps.
- Enable rainwater suction trucks, sewage line clearing machinery, and drinking water tankers to operate without obstacles.
- Protect workers and water and sanitation facilities.
- Coordinate an international, regional, and local emergency response to prevent the collapse of services before the winter season and to protect civilians from an imminent humanitarian, environmental, and health catastrophe.
