Displaced Palestinians in Gaza line up their empty jerrycans to collect water.;
Credit: © MSF
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has reported increasing cases of malnutrition, water and healthcare deprivation in the Gaza Strip, resulting in thousands of illnesses, due to restrictions on water treatment items, damage to water infrastructure, and lack of food supply.
According to MSF, they could increase supplies to the Gaza Strip, but they claim that Israeli authorities are preventing the import of water treatment supplies, while pipelines and desalination plants have also been repeatedly damaged. This has led to the elimination of 137 water distribution points. The organisation reported that these restrictions have contributed to thousands of illnesses as there is no naturally available drinking water because of salination and contamination of sewage and chemicals.
As stated by MSF, their medical teams are observing increasingly high levels of malnutrition in Gaza, as well as food supplies remaining scarce and, in some instances, children are consuming water instead of milk, contrary to claims by the Israeli government. The MSF has also claimed that there are very few places for inpatient treatment of malnutrition throughout Gaza, so even some of the most serious cases are treated in ambulatory cares.
EO
