Gaza desalination plant could run out of clean water after Israel cuts off power supply

Palestinians in Gaza could be out of clean drinking water in a matter of days after Israel cut off its electricity supply to the territory, which drastically slashed operations at a water desalination plant.

Omar Shatat, deputy director of the Coastal Municipalities Water Utility, said Palestinians in central and southern areas of Gaza rely on the desalination plant in Deir al-Balah for clean water.

"There will be a big struggle in supplying water," Shatat told CBC News on Monday from Gaza City. "We need a solution. Potable water is the basis of life."

Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen announced on Sunday that he had ordered the Israel Electric Corporation not to sell electricity to Gaza. Cohen said it was a means of applying pressure on Palestinian militant group Hamas to free its remaining hostages amid a ceasefire standoff between Israel and Hamas.

Roughly 400,000 people in the affected areas will no longer be able to rely on water from the plant, which is now using benzene to operate — and that could run out in several days, Shatat said. Some 50 per cent of the water the plant supplied was potable water that was clean for drinking, he said.

Before power was cut off on Sunday, the plant was providing about 18,000 cubic metres of water each day. Now, it is able to provide only 3,000 cubic metres of water daily as it continues to run on benzene.

Gazans have relied largely on backup generators and solar power for electricity after Israel suspended its power supply to Gaza following the Hamas-led attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, leaving much of the war-torn enclave in the dark.

Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem said the desalination plant — which is the only one with a power line to Israel —was being supplied with some electricity before it was cut off on Sunday.

"This decision shows that the occupation [Israel] pays no attention to any humanitarian or international laws," Qassem told CBC News on Monday. 

A number of humanitarian groups — including the United Nations, Human Rights Watch and the International Committee of the Red Cross — have said that under international humanitarian law, Israel is required to make sure the basic needs of Gazans are met, including food and water.

While Israel continues to control most of the flow of people and goods in and out of the Gaza Strip, it says it does not occupy Gaza, having disengaged from the region in 2005, when it ended its permanent military presence there.

Decision is 'catastrophic'

Water infrastructure has been destroyed in the territory amid the 17-month-long war, which impeded the delivery of clean water and fuel to operate water treatment plants in Gaza.

Mohammad Thabet, spokesperson for the Gaza Electricity Distribution Company, told Reuters that Israel's latest decision will subject Gazans to "environmental and health risks."

"The decision is catastrophic. Municipalities now will be obliged to let sewage water stream into the sea, which may result in environmental and health risks that go beyond the boundaries of Gaza," Thabet said.

He noted that there was not enough fuel to operate standby generators in desalination and sewage plants, adding that the existing generators were outdated and hardly functional.

Aid, food blockade forces bakery closures

Israel's move to cut off its power supply to Gaza comes a week after it blocked the entry of goods into the territory, part of a worsening standoff over a truce that has halted fighting for the past seven weeks.

The suspension of goods entering Gaza has taken a toll on the Palestinian enclave.

Intended to pressure Hamas in ceasefire talks, the suspension applies to food, medicine and fuel imports. Hamas describes the measure as "collective punishment" and insists it will not be pushed into making concessions at the discussions.

The United Nations Palestinian refugees agency, UNRWA, said the decision to halt humanitarian aid threatens the lives of civilians exhausted by 17 months of "brutal" war, adding that most of Gaza's 2.3 million people were dependent on aid.

WATCH | Israel blocks entry of goods into Gaza last week:

Israel says it will block all aid into Gaza until Hamas extends ceasefire

9 days ago

Duration 2:15

Israel says it will continue to block all humanitarian assistance going into Gaza unless Hamas agrees to extend the first phase of the ceasefire deal, which expired on Saturday. Hamas wants to move directly into Phase 2 of the original agreement, which includes all Israeli forces withdrawing from Gaza.

UNRWA commissioner-general Philippe Lazzarini said there is a growing risk that Gazans will face "deepening hunger" seen earlier in the war the longer aid blockages remain.

Nasser Al-Ajrami, head of the Gaza bakers' union, told Reuters that six out of the 22 bakeries still able to operate in the enclave had already shut after they ran out of cooking gas.

"The remaining bakeries may close down in a week or so should they run out of diesel or flour, unless the crossing is reopened to allow the goods to flow," he said.

"The 22 bakeries were not enough to meet the needs of the people. With six of them shutting down now, that would increase the demand for bread and worsen the condition," said.

'No electricity, no water, no life'

The move has also led to a hike in the price of essential foods as well as fuel, forcing many to ration their meals.

Displaced from her destroyed house and living in a tent in Khan Younis, 40-year-old Ghada al-Rakab said she is struggling to secure basic needs. The mother of six bakes some goods for her family and neighbours, sometimes renting out a makeshift clay oven for a nominal price.

"What kind of life are we living? No electricity, no water, no life. We don't even live a proper life. What else is left there in life? May God take us and give us rest," al-Rakab said.

Hamas has pressed to start negotiations on the ceasefire's second phase, which would see the release of remaining hostages from Gaza, the withdrawal of Israeli forces and a lasting peace. Hamas is believed to have 24 living hostages and the bodies of 35 others.

As the ceasefire standoff continued, an Israeli airstrike killed three Palestinians in the Bureij camp in central Gaza on Monday, medics said.

The Israeli military said the air force struck three individuals in Nuseirat, central Gaza, who were accused of trying to plant explosives. It also said soldiers shot at several militants in Gaza City who were also allegedly attempting to plant explosives, but it did not provide any evidence of either.

Egypt, Qatar and the United States are trying to salvage the ceasefire deal. They held talks with Hamas leaders over the weekend and are set to receive Israeli negotiators in Doha, the capital of Qatar, on Monday. Israel is demanding that Hamas free the remaining hostages without beginning phase two negotiations.