UNRWA warns of water shortages and worsening diseases in Gaza

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has warned of the increasing risk of the spread of infectious diseases throughout the Gaza Strip, amid chronic water scarcity and the absence of the means to manage waste and sanitation properly.

The United Nations Information Center stated that UNRWA confirmed that about 40,000 cases of hepatitis A have been recorded in its shelters and health centers since last October, while health partners are preparing for the worst-case scenario of a polio outbreak.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs indicated that there are ongoing obstacles to the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Gaza, including ongoing hostilities, unexploded ordnance, damaged and impassable roads, attacks on aid convoys, lack of public order and safety, the closure of the Rafah crossing, and restrictions imposed by the Israeli authorities on the entry of some humanitarian supplies.

The UN office indicated that these factors continue to significantly impede the entry of aid into Gaza and the delivery of aid and basic services to hundreds of thousands of people across the Strip.