to report «iusnews»; Children in Gaza are getting only about 10% of the water they would normally use, leaving them with “barely a drop to drink”, UNICEF said in a statement on Wednesday.
“Recently displaced children in the Southern Gaza Strip are accessing only 1.5 to 2 litres of water each day,” the statement said, CNN reported.
It added that 15 liters are the minimum standard per day for drinking, washing, and cooking, while three liters are the minimum for survival alone.
UNICEF says water and sanitation services in Gaza are “at the point of collapse”, which could have severe repercussions on children.
“The impact of this on children is particularly dramatic because children are also more susceptible to dehydration, diarrhea, disease and malnutrition, all of which can compound to present a threat to their survival,” UNICEF said.
“Concerns of waterborne diseases such as cholera and chronic diarrhea are particularly heightened given the lack of safe water, especially following this week’s rains and flooding," added the statement.
Last week, the World Health Organization said it had recorded about 165,000 cases of diarrhea amongst children under the age of five, which it described as “much more” than normal.
“Without safe water, many more children will die from deprivation and disease in the coming days” UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said.
Israel has previously said it is "facilitating various humanitarian aid initiatives" in Gaza, including "the supply of water directly from Israel".
Israel's air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip since an October 7 attack by Hamas have killed more than 19,660 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to health authorities in the enclave.
The war has left Gaza in ruins, with half of the coastal territory's housing damaged or destroyed and nearly 2 million people displaced within the densely-populated enclave amid shortages of food and clean water.
