The problem of the Gaza’s Strip is that some parts of its Mediterranean coastline have turned brown. Which signals a significant health crisis because there is an open sewerage of waterborne diseases. Satellite images reviewed by Arabic show that large quantities of sewage overflow into the sea off the coast of Deir al-Balah. Local authorities say people displaced in camps adjacent to it have their toilets going straight into the sea. Thus contributing heavily to its pollution.
Increased displacement worsens sewage discharge Gaza’s
Abu Yazan Ismael Sarsour, chairman of the emergency committee in Deir al-Balah. Blames the sewage flood on the increase in the number of internally displaced people. Who had been forced to connect their sewers with rainwater drainage systems. Environmentalist Wim Zwijnenburg from Pax for Peace verified by scrscrutinizingose satellite pictures that wastewater from overcrowded camps also enters the ocean.
Satellite Images Show Escalating Pollution Gaza’s
According to photographs dated 2 August this year. Sewage discharge affected an area of up to 2 square kilometres (0.8 square miles). The flow started in June and has steadily increased over the past two months. As a result, there is no clear picture of what state coastal pollution exists today due to the absence of fresh satellite images.
Wastewater Infrastructure Collapse
The collapse of Gaza’s sewage management system was caused by severe bombing, which was documented by a United Nations environmental report released in June. Consequently, the Israeli defence ministry division responsible for the West Bank/Palestinian territories, Cogat, claimed that it has been undertaking measures aimed at reviving the sewerage system in Gaza. These included coordinating the repair of water wells and desalination plants and extending pipelines. However, verification of these improvements could not be done by the BBC as it is restricted independent accessWaterborne
Waterborne Diseases Spread Aggravating Health Crisis
Health experts are ringing alarm bells over an escalating health crisis, with the first polio case in 25 years reported in Gaza. A ten month old baby got paralysedparalyzed contracted polio virus. The UN and World Health Organization (WHO) have called for two one-week lulls in fighting to vaccinate 600,000 children in Gaza. Nevertheless, logistical difficulties and constraints on humanitarian relief make vaccine distribution hard.
Health Conditions at Oxfam’s Dire Alert
According to an Oxfam warning, health expert Lama Abdul Samad has described the situation as “a health catastrophe”. And noted that 25% of Gaza’s population had been waterborne water-borne infections. She says that the destroyed sewage system is inundating streets. And residential areas with raw sewage, which in turn exposes people to more danger.
