Losses to municipal sectors worth over $3bn: Gaza official

A boy walks through a puddle of sewage water past mounds of trash and rubble along a street in the Jabalia camp for Palestinian refugees in the northern Gaza Strip on August 14. File picture/AFP

A government official in Gaza has revealed the extent of damage sustained by the service sector in the Gaza Strip, which included the destruction of municipal offices that provide essential local services to Palestinian citizens. The damage also involved the bombing and destruction of water and sewage networks, as well as the demolition of water wells and waste management systems.

In a statement to Qatar News Agency (QNA), Director-General of the Government Media Office Ismail Thawabteh said that the estimated initial losses to the services and municipal sectors were around $3.147bn.

He warned that, as the rainy season approaches in Gaza, the negative impact on Palestinian citizens from the destruction of infrastructure by Israeli forces could become even more apparent, expressing concerns over streets and refugee tents flooding.

For its part, the Union of Municipalities in Gaza warned of sewage and rainwater collection ponds overflowing due to damaged pumps and destroyed sewage networks. Municipalities in the northern and southern parts of Gaza reported that Israeli forces deliberately targeted sewage lines and bombed major pumping stations.

Director of the Media Department at Gaza Municipality Asim al-Nabih, the largest in the Gaza Strip, said that Israeli occupation forces destroyed 90,000m of water networks and that 75% of wells were damaged. Additionally, 165,000m of sewage and rainwater drainage networks were destroyed.

Al-Nabih called on international organisations to intervene and assist in repairing water pumps and rainwater drainage lines, highlighting that Gaza is approaching winter. He mentioned that an appeal had been made to the UN to pressure Israel to allow the necessary equipment to enter, in order to prevent rainwater collection ponds from flooding and endangering the lives of residents.

The ongoing genocide in Gaza by Israeli occupation forces has continued for the 364th consecutive day, leading to the complete destruction of vital infrastructure and services.