The UAE has delivered more than 130 million gallons of clean drinking water to the Gaza Strip through a network of desalination plants established in December. The six plants, located on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border, produce approximately 1.6 million gallons of water daily, serving up to 600,000 Palestinians.
The desalination network, part of the UAE's ongoing relief operations, is providing essential water to civilians affected by the conflict. Emiratis work around the clock to pump water into Gaza from the site, which is only 500 meters from the enclave.
Engineer Khalid Al Naqbi, part of the team addressing water scarcity, said, “UAE has established the plant with a productivity of around 1.6 million gallons per day for our people in Gaza. About 3,200 meters of water pipeline stretches across the border to the internal water network in Rafah. We also established four filling points for water tankers as immediate aid to Gaza.”
The water crisis, exacerbated by the war, poses a serious health risk to Palestinians. Israel has largely cut off water supplies, food and electricity, while significant damage to water and sanitation facilities has occurred due to heavy bombardment.
The desalination plants gather water from the Mediterranean Sea, filter it and send it underground to Gaza.
Mr. Al Naqbi emphasized that the water is monitored to ensure it meets drinking quality standards and reaches over 600,000 people daily.
In March, Gaza produced only 5 percent of its usual water supply due to infrastructure damage, according to a UN Environment Programme report. By April, water availability had dropped to two to eight liters per day per resident, significantly below the UN's minimum requirement of 15 liters per day.
In addition to water, the UAE has set up 12 warehouses in Al Arish, Egypt, stockpiling essential aid such as nappies, blankets, canned food, flour, rice and medicine. This aid, a result of the UAE public's generosity, has been packed by thousands of volunteers under the Compassion for Gaza campaign.
As of June 13, the UAE had provided 33,100 tonnes of urgent supplies to Gaza, delivered by 320 flights, seven ships and 1,243 lorries.
Inputs from: The National News