Gaza municipalities: Fuel shortage disrupts sanitation and threatens the spread of epidemics
23
The Gaza Strip Municipalities Union warned, on Saturday, of the dangers of epidemics and the deterioration of the health situation in the Strip, while Israel continued to prevent the entry of sufficient quantities to operate vital facilities.
The union said, in a statement, that the municipalities of the Gaza Strip suffer from a “severe fuel crisis”, which directly affected their ability to provide basic services to citizens, especially in times of emergency and the advent of winter.
He explained that this shortage led to the inability of water and sanitation pumps to operate, which raises the risk of epidemics spreading and the deterioration of public health. The union warned that the continuation of the crisis portends serious environmental and health repercussions.
He added, “The accumulation of waste and the inability to remove it exacerbate the environmental threats, at a time when the remaining mechanisms are unable to remove the rubble and open roads, which impedes the movement of municipal vehicles, civil defense and ambulances, and weakens the response to emergency situations.”
The union indicated that “the humanitarian and service conditions are likely to deteriorate, with the entry of air depressions and heavy rain, in light of the need for large quantities of fuel to operate the pumps and equipment.”
He said, “The continued lack of fuel threatens to stop municipal services in Gaza, which calls for an immediate opening of the crossings and the provision of sufficient quantities of fuel, to ensure the continuation of the minimum level of humanitarian and health services, especially in light of the harsh emergency and winter conditions.”
