Everyone In Gaza Drinking Unsafe Water: Health Ministry

Everyone living in the Gaza Strip is drinking unsafe water, the Palestinian Health Ministry said Saturday.

"Because of the closure of the public health laboratory and the inability to test drinking water, all citizens of the Gaza Strip are drinking unsafe water that puts their lives at risk," said the ministry in a statement.

The ministry attributed this to Israel's refusal to allow the use of chlorine or any alternative for treating drinking water.

Also, the accumulation of waste in the streets and the camps could lead to spread of disease, the ministry warned.

On Wednesday, cases of meningitis and hepatitis were detected, the ministry said.

Israel has waged a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group, Hamas, on Oct. 7, which Tel Aviv said killed less than 1,200 people.

Nearly 34,400 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 77,400 injured amid mass destruction and severe shortages of necessities.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi -