Palestinians in Gaza suffer from spread of water-borne diseases, say experts as death toll climbs to 26,000

Palestinians fleeing Khan Younis, due to the Israeli ground operation, move towards Rafah, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Saturday, January 27, 2024. - Reuters

RAMALLAH (Bernama): Sixty-six per cent of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip suffer from spread of water-borne diseases such as cholera, chronic diarrhea, and intestinal diseases, due to the lack of drinkable water and the closure of all water desalination plants as a result of the ongoing Israeli occupation aggression, the enclave’s Environmental Quality Authority (EQA) said.

It said Israeli bombing of sewage lines and causing them to flood, had led to a health and environmental catastrophe, especially the Sheikh Radwan Pool, which has reached a critical level due to the accumulation of rainwater and the leakage of wastewater into it, Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.