UNICEF: Gaza Faces a Man-Made Drought as Water Systems Collapse

By Staff, Agencies

Gaza is facing a man-made drought as its water systems collapse, the United Nations' children agency said on Friday.

"Children will begin to die of thirst ... Just 40% of drinking water production facilities remain functional," UNICEF spokesperson James Elder told reporters in Geneva.

He further added that “We are way below emergency standards in terms of drinking water for people in Gaza.”

UNICEF also reported a 50% increase in children aged six months to 5 years admitted for treatment of malnutrition from April to May in Gaza, and half a million people going hungry.

It said the US-backed aid distribution system run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation [GHF] was "making a desperate situation worse."

On Friday at least 25 people awaiting aid trucks or seeking aid were claimed by "Israeli" fire south of "Netzarim" in central Gaza Strip, according to local health authorities.

On Thursday at least 51 people were claimed by "Israeli" gunfire and strikes, including 12 people who tried to approach a site operated by the GHF in the central Gaza Strip.

Elder, who was recently in Gaza, said he had many testimonials of women and children injured while trying to receive food aid, including a young boy who was wounded by a tank shell and later martyred of his injuries.

He said a lack of public clarity on when the sites, some of which are in combat zones, were open was causing mass casualty events.