UNICEF: 90% of Gaza Residents Lack Access to Safe Drinking Water

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Monday that Gaza’s severe water shortage has reached critical levels, with only one in ten people currently able to access safe drinking water.

Rosalia Polin, a UNICEF official in Gaza, stated that 600,000 people had regained access to drinking water in November 2024, but this access was later cut off again.

“It is absolutely crucial for thousands of families and children to regain access to water,” Polin emphasized.

UN agencies estimate that 1.8 million people—more than half of them children—urgently need water, sanitation, and health assistance.

The situation deteriorated further after the Zionist entity cut off electricity to the territory on Sunday, disrupting vital water desalination operations.

Meanwhile, the UN humanitarian coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territories, Muhannad Hadi, called for the immediate resumption of life-saving aid, warning that any further delays would jeopardize progress made during the recent ceasefire.