97% of water in Gaza is polluted

Water experts have agreed that the Gaza Strip will soon have no safe drinking water given that 97 per cent of water is polluted, which has caused concerns over the spread of dangerous diseases.

This came during a survey conducted by the Palestinian News Agency Wafa conducted on the eve of World Water Day, which falls on 22 March each year.

Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights has reported that pollution in the Gaza Strip has increased because sea water pollution rates have hit 73 per cent. The number of diarrhoea cases among children under the age of three (80 per cent) is indicative that fresh water has become contaminated and unsafe for drinking.

Deputy Head of the Palestinian Water Authority, Rebhi Al-Sheikh, explained that water pollution in the Gaza Strip is mainly due to the increasing level of salt and nitrate that has a negative effect on health, especially on children and pregnant women because it can result in kidney and urinary tract diseases.